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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



dJiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiMiifniiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiniiiiiiiiinniiniiinniiiMiiiingEi^ 



THE 



H 



CCENTRIC iHINKER. 



I Essays, i^ Sermohs j 

I AND I 

I SPECULATIOH. | 

I BY I 

I H. M. RAGAK, | 

= A LITTLE PIJTEr- WOODS PREACHER. = 



= If anything be revealed to another that sltteth hy^ 

= let the first hold his peace, — 1 Cor., 14-30. 

E And they searched the Scriptures daily ^ whether 

E those things ivere so. — Acts, 17-11. 



PRICE 50 CEJVTS. 



= COPYRIGHTED BY H. M. RAGAN. 

E TEXAS CITIZEN STEAM PRINTING HOUSE, HONEY 
E GROVE, TEXAS. 

E 1888 



?iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiNnniniiiiiiiiHEi!?p 



THE 



H 



ccENTRic Thinker. 



Essays, ifv Sermohs 

AND 

• SPECULATIOH. 

H. M. feAGAM, 

A LITTLE PLXEY-WOODS PBK-ICHER. 

If anytJtinq hr rrrralcd to (tnoihpr that sittefh by ^ 
Uf'thrfirHt hold hispravc.—l CoR., 14-30. 

And tJirij searchrd the Sf-rlptHrrs dailjj^ ivhcthcr 
those thbiffs were so. — Acts, 17-11. 

PRICE 60 CE.YTS. 



TEXAS CITIZEN STEAM PRINTING HOUSE, HONEY 

EX AS. 

1888 



^t^' 



— ^ — . 

It is not claimed that there are no errors in this 
little volume. The apparently needless repetitions 
will perhaps make a more lasting impression on the 
mind. No effort has been made to please any par- 
ticular person or party. The object of the author in 
writinj? this little book is to throw some light upon 
the most mysterious subjects and apparent contra- 
dictions of the Bible, to discourage sectarian 
strife and also to contribute something towards 
the moral elevation of his race. The reader 
of this little volume will doubtless find things 
both new and old — some he will admire, 
some that will excite his wonder and some tha« to 
may entirely reject; yet it is believed and hoped that 
h e will be paid many times for both the outlay and 
perusal. 

The Be centric Thinker goes forth to the 
reading public accompanied by the prayers of the 
author, X3:. :Lv£. K..^^(3--^ISr, 

Fullbright, Red River County, Texas. 

July 2nd, 1888. 



CONTEXTS: 



Faith, The Scriptures, God, Man, The Me- 
diation of Christ, and Salvation. 

A Short Sermon, The Sum of the Gospel, and 
the Compromise. 

Melchizedek, the Garden of Eden and Water 

Baptism. 



" Without Faith it is impossible to please God.'^ 
Heb. 11-6. 

"Faith is the substance of thiufj? lioped for, 
the evidence of things not seen.-' T'en Faith. 
is a something, and cannot express :■ *i:Cnta.l ac- 
tion; for it is a noun, always having case, and 
corresponds to the verb believe. It is one of 
the finiits. of the si)irit, (see Gal. 5-22) and like 
love, joy and peace, it expresses a state of the 
soul; each of which must be produced by its 
respective cause. JFaith, then, must be a crea- 
ture of the mind — a credulous state of the soul 
A dead Faith is a credulous but inactive soul 
state. A person may imagine that something 
exists or is true without intellectually understand- 
ing tlie object; but this is a blind Faith, Avhich, 
however, is better than none at all. Children 
and simple-minded adults are excusable for pos- 
sessing no higher degree of Faith than this, if 
they can rise no higher. But living, intellectual 



THE ECCENTKIC THINKER. 



credulity or Faith must be produced by evidence 
received in the understanding sufficient to con- 
vince the judgment. Then the will orders some 
action of the mind or body in respect to the 
object of that Faith. When the heart and 
affections are enlisted, and the object is divine, 
it may be properly denominated moral or re- 
ligious Faith. 

Whatever may be the object of Faith, its es- 
sence is doubtless always the same. *'Faith 
comes by hearing,'' and therefore no one can 
properly believe in anything of which he has 
never heaVd. We hear of a machine, and be- 
come convinced of its existence. We see its 
works and are assured that it is a success. We 
pay our money for one, and thus trust it to 
benefit us. So it appears that Faith is made up 
of conviction^ assurance and trust. Children 
and ignorant persons are naturally credulous 
and are apt to believe what they hear. Many 
from infancy are perfectly assured of the truth 
of the Bible and divine things, which Faith is 
hased on the opinions and testimony of parents 
and friends. If a person is inclined to skepti- 
cism, he should first study the evidences of 
Christianity that he may be convinced; then by 
observing its effects on individuals and nations 
he will be assured/ ^i.id finally by repenting of 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



his sins and turning to God he will tnist in God 
through Christ and thus reap the bene tits of the 
Gospel. ''Faith without works is dead;" there- 
fore dead Faith in anything can do its possessor 
no good. 

Blind Faith, if its object is real and true, and 
the heart (or will) quickens it to active life, will 
bring its possessor the blessings promised in the 
object. A message received by telegra])h influ- 
ences both thought and action, whether we 
understand telegraphy or not ; provided we are 
coyirinced, assured and will trust in this science. 
But intelligent conviction and assurance, pro- 
duced by a sufficiency of evidence, will not 
bring the promised blessings unless there be 
ti'ust in the object. A person may understand 
telegraphy, and be perfectly convinced and ^6'- 
snred of its practical utihty, but if he will not 
trust in the science and avail himself of its ben- 
efits it cannot do him any good. These condi- 
tions and essentials of true Faith are evidently 
also indispensible in morals and religion. A 
person who cannot read or cannot understand 
the Bible and mysteries of theology, being con- 
rinced and assured, may trust in the promises 
of the Bible as he understands them, and realize 
the blessings of the gospel. Another may 
understand theology and be familiar with the 



10 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

teachings of the Bible, yet if he will not repent 
and comply with the conditions of x^romise and 
thus trust in the Lord Jesus, he cannot realize the 
pardon of sins and rejoice in the peace of recon- 
ciliation with God. IS'o one should be infatuated 
with the delusion that either dead or intellectual 
Faith will bring the promised blessings of the 
Gospel. The whole soul, mind and strength 
must be enlisted and brought to willing, anxious 
obedience, with no mental reservation of beset- 
ting sins ; and then being convinced and assnred 
and trusting in the promises of the Bible through 
Christ,the blessings of the Gospel cannot fail to 
come. It is to be feared that in these days 
there are many Ananaises who mentally reserve 
a part of the price and do not comply with the 
conditions and essentials of true religious Faith. 
Faith is evidently not an absolute^ but a con- 
ditional gift of God. "By grace are ye saved 
through (the medium of) Faith; and tliat (grace) 
not of yourselves ; it (the grace of salvation) is 
the gift of God." Faith in some sense must be 
of ourselves, since the Lord calls upon all to re- 
pent and believe. If Faith is an absolute gift of 
God, the sinner is certainly justifiable in wait- 
ing for a sufficient supply to move him to 
action. 



a:x3:E so:r.i:e=*ti:j:r,E3- 

" Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think 
ye have eternal life, and the^^ are they which 
testify of me.'^ — John o-39. 

The Scriptures, or sacred writings commonly 
called the Bible, claims to he the revealed will of 
God, and therefore of divine origin. If it is not 
of divine origin, it is a cheat, a- forgery and a 
delusion. But who has ever detected and ex- 
posed the fraud? . Such a person is unknown to 
the most learned and pious men of all ages of 
the world. Therefore the Bible must be true, 
and should be appreciated and obeyed by all. 
The sacred writings have ever been respected 
by the best people of every age, in spite of 
worldly criticism and the combined opposition 
of bad men and devils. While nations and king- 
doms have arisen and fallen and sunk into obliv- 
ion, the Bible, in spite of all the worldly opposi- 
tion brought against it, still remains and stands 
a living, miraculous momument testifying to its 



12 TME ECCEXTKIC THINKER. 

own divine aiitliority. Humanbeings very much 
need Vb revelation, since every one realizes that 
he is bom into trouble, suffering and death, 
that each may know how he can better his con- 
dition. Vv^e know from experience and obser- 
vation, as well as from profane history ,that human 
wisdom and etrength cannot produce peace and 
happiness, even in this world. This being true, 
and seeing our animal wants have been so 
abundantly provided for, it is certainly very 
reasonable to su])po8e that our merciful Creator 
has also provided for the gratitication of human 
intelligence, sinritual necessities and the immor- 
tality of the soul. The Bible proves itself just 
such & revelation as intelligent beings like our- 
selves need. If this book were plainer it might 
force conviction and thus* violate the freedom of 
volition. If it could be readily understood by 
all we would be justifiable in doubting its di- 
vine authoiity, and it would soon become trite 
and be disposed of as a thing of the past. If it 
were more obscure even sincere seekers after the 
light o: truth might become discouraged and 
give up in despair. But in the Sacred Scrip- 
tures we find that omniscience, accompanied by 
love and mercy, has so inspired and directed the 
different persons who wrote that every individ- 
ui], of every age, nation and clime may find 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 13 

suitable heavenly instruction for Ms peciiliar 
case. The rich and the poor, the learned and 
the illiterate, the pious and the sinner — 
each, any or all of them may freely 
and continually partake of this rich and 
bountiful treasury, but it can never be ex- 
hausted nor fathomed. By seriously and care- 
fully reading its blessed pages and obseiTing 
the exact fulfillment of prophecy and the mira- 
cles wrought to prove that it is from God, we 
are convlneel of its divine authority, knowing 
that no human foresight and power cordd per- 
form such things. By observing the effects of 
its teachings, as we see them manifested in 
individuals and nations we become assured,, see- 
ing that it has wholesome effects upon all, mak- 
ing them more prosperous and happy. Being 
convinced and assured by unconditionally 
submitting and obeying the commandments as 
therein recorded, we thus trust it to benefit us, 
and then we have all of Faith in the Scriptures, 
and its blessings become ours. 

We may feel sure that the sacred writings, pre 
substantially what they were at first, eince a 
continued chain of tradition has handed them 
down to us. The Jews have ever borne testi- 
mony to the purity of the Old Testament, 
and especially to the first five books. 



U THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 

called the Peiitateuch. The Samaritans 
had a copy of this for several hundred 
years before Christ, and if either they or 
the Jews had made any change^ the other would 
have detected and exposed the interpolation ; 
for they were enemies and would have gladJy 
availed themselves of such an opportunity. 

Great care was ever taken by the Jews that 
the Scriptures might be preserved and ])rotect- 
ed. They were kept in the Ark of the Coven- 
ant, which was a chest provided for that pur- 
pose, and none but persons aj^pointed for that 
business were permitted to handle or transcribe 
them. In copying, it is said, they were very 
particular to preserve every little dot and mark, 
as well as the letters. The angels on the toj) of 
the Ark, called the Cherubim, evidently indi- 
cated that divine protection was over the sacred 
writings within. Many of the Philistines were 
miraculously slain when this Ark was in their 
possession, and upon one occasion their idol god 
was found prostrate before it, and iinally they 
were glad to get rid of it. When the Ark was 
returned to the land of Israel many there were 
similarly slain for attempting to examine its sa- 
cred contents. • Uzzah fell dead before the Ark 
when he put forth his hand to steady it — not- 
withstanding he did so reverently — that all 



THE ECCENTRIC THJNKKE. 15 



might be taught to fear and res])ect the aiitlior- 
ity of these saerecl Scriptures. 

All these things being true, we certainly have 
no grounds for doubting the purity of the Scrip- 
tures nor their divine origin or authority. Since 
there is so much at stake, so long as there is a 
single probability of their being true, it is not 
only unwise, but folly and madness, to refuse or 
neglect to give them a serious, careful and prater 
ful consideration. But since there is so much i)roof 
and there have ever been so m-my human wit- 
nesses of the best and most noble character 
who have borne testimony to their truth, in the 
face of opposition, persecution and death; how 
can any hoi)e to egca])e who wilfully slight such 
glorious i)rivileges? If it is God's book, none 
need ever expect to understand it all, but each 
may learn his own lesson and obtain the peace 
and rest of Heaven. 

The sacred Scriptures a^ we now have them 
in our Bible are divided into two ])arts — the Old 
and the New Testaments. The Old is divided 
into thirty-nine books and the ^ew into twenty- 
seven, each of which is sub-divided into chap- 
ters and verses. In this grand old book we 
learn that man was originally ])ure and holy and 
clothed with wonderful powerr. Not being a 
brute, but a human being, he would experiment; 



IG THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

he sinned and he fell from his exalted estate. 
We learn also of the scheme of redemption, de- 
vised for human restoration to an other life in the 
world to come. The Scriptures were a neces- 
sity for the execution of the plan of salvation, 
by and through the incarnation, life, death, res- 
surrection and glorification of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Man still being in freedom after the fall 
. — necessarily so, being human and not a brute — 
he could only be saved by the revelation of this 
scheme and obtaining the consent of His will. 
Hence the Creator, in mere} , has given and 
wonderfully protected the sacred writings ; and 
the willing position of the human race in thijs 
world will doubtless ever receive heavenly light 
through this medium ; and unbelievers and hea- 
then receive at least reflected light from and 
through the same sources. 

We know of no Scriptures for about two 
thousand years after the Creation, but it is prob- 
able that Heavenly knowledge was only gradu- 
ally lost, and that the Scriptures, as a medium 
for imparting knowledge and keeping up Divine 
communication with men, were not necessary 
until after a long and grrdual decline, when the 
human mind became go sensual that it was not 
capa^ble of rea^lizing the divine presence and re- 
ceiving impressions except through a material 



THE ECCENTTIC THINK Eli 



medium. Human longevity Avas much greater 
in the first age of the world than since the flood; 
and it is highly probable that both heavenly 
knowledge and the historv of men and the world 
were handed down to succeeding generations by 
tradition. Moses, most likely, was at least aided 
in this way when writing the first chapters of 
Genesis. He is the reputed author of the Penta- 
teuch, but it is probable that Ezra compiled and 
re-wrote them all, as well as all the books that 
j^recede his own, for it is said, ''He was a ready 
scribe in the law of Moses." He was also a 
priest and a noted teacher in his day. In many 
places in the Pentateuch we read such language 
as, "Moses said unto the people'' and "The Lord 
said unto Moses," and it is not likely that Moses 
would have used such expressions. It is highly 
improbable that Moses recorded his own death, 
as we read it in the thirty-fourth chapter of Deu- 
teronomj^ This might have been done by mira- 
cle or inspiration, but it is certainly more reas- 
onable to suppose that Ezra wrote this chapter 
when comi)iling the books of the law. Joshua, 
the successor of Moses may have written it, but 
still it is probable that Ezra compiled the whole. 
The Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, is the 
central object of the Pentateuch. It is the essence 
of the whole law. Part of tliese Commandments 



18 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



pertain to man's duties to God, and the rest, to. 
Ms fellow-men. The spirit of this law has, 
doubtless^ ever been recognized by all people in 
every age of the world and it is likely to so 
continue till time shall be no more. 

The book of Job has ever been a mysterious 
puzzle to Biblical critics. They differ about 
who Job was, as well as who wrote the book and 
when and where Job lived. Some consider him 
a real man, and others a personification. There 
are certainly more reasons for attributing the 
authorship of this book to King Solomon, since, 
evidently, he was better naturally qualified to 
write such a book than an^^ other. The whole book 
appears to be a parabolic representation of the 
original purity, fall and restoration of man. In 
the end Job's rich inheritance Avas restored 
unto him double. God, by His x)rophet, says of 
the finally faithful : ''I will restore unto you 
double." See Zech., 9-12. 

Eclesiastes is a curious book, but full of 
good and wholesome instruction. It was prob- 
ably written by Solomon, the preacher, during 
the last days of his hfe. After proving by sad 
experience that the tilings of this world were all 
vanity and a failure, liis farewell and dying con- 
clusion was penned: ''Fear God and keep His com- 
mandments, which is the whole duty of man." 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 30 

There are seventeen prophetic books, most of 
which speak of the coming of Christ and the 
glories of the Gospel dispensation. These, with 
the historical books and the law, served as both 
guide and protector to bring the people to 
Christ^ — the great spiritual teacher. Christ has 
ever been the end, object or fulfillment of the 
law and the prophets. The Old Testament treats 
of the Messiah to come, but the Xew treats of 
the Christ who has already made his appear- 
ance. 

The foiu^ first books of the Xew Testament 
constitute a kind of four-fold history of oiu^ 
Lord Jesus Christ, written expressly to con- 
vince the reader that Jesus is the Chriet ; that, 
being confirmed in this belief, they might have 
life. (kScc John, 20-31.) The Acts is the Apos- 
tles' Journal, or record of their words and 
works. In this book there is an apparent contra- 
diction which deserves special consideration. 
Concerning Paul's conversion it is said of the men 
with him : ''They, hearing a voice,^' &c — 9-7 : 
*'They heard not the voice'' — 22-9. Xow. to 
hear means also to understand and to heed. The 
voice probably spake in the Hebrew tongue and 
Paul, only, understood its meaning — anyway 
thev heard the sound of the voice, but thev did 
not hear, or understand, the voice of him that 



20 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 



spake. This is certainly the most giariiig ap- 
parent contradiction in the whole Bible ; and if 
it can be so easily and reasonably reconciled, 
we need have no fears about the rest. The 
Epistles are letters written to the churches, to 
correct false doctrines, to instruct the members 
and to exhort them to continue steadfast in the 
faith, and thus sui)ply the apostles' absence. 
The writers certainly did not intend these Epis- 
tles as the Christian's law or they would most 
likely have written it out in full and sent a copy 
to each church ; and further, if St. Paul had had 
even a remote idea that these Epistles would be 
kept and used as they now are, he certainly 
vYOuld not have i)enned such expressions as, 
''The rest will I set in order when I come."' But 
all these things being directed by Divine Provi- 
dence, we may be sure that the whole Bible is 
just as it ought to be to most greatly benefit us. 
The Catholic or general church has ever 
been a kind of school, which has no fewer than 
four classes. Some of the Epistles were evi- 
dently addressed to one class and some to an- 
other. This consideration will account for their 
being so different. These classes may be de- 
scribed as follows : 1st — Intellectual believers, 
not being born of the Spirit. 2nd — Babes in 
Christ, just started for Heaven. 3rd — Adult 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 21 



Cbristians wlio were going on to perfection. 
4tb — Mature manhood, Avho were men and 
women in Christ Jesus. It does not require 
close observation to discover that the Epistles 
to the Eomans and the Galatians axe very much 
alike. Many of the members of these two 
churches evidently belonged to the hrst class. 
The arguments used in these Epistles are re- 
ferred to and explained in other essays. The 
Corinthians belonged to the second class, the 
Thessalonians and Philippians to the third and 
the Ephesians and Colossians to the fourth. St. 
Paul tells the Ephesians the very .things he could 
not express to the understanding of the Corin- 
thians. 

James, Peter and John each wrote general 
Epistles, which are full of instruction, warnings 
and exhortation. It appears that Jude wrote 
expressly to warn the true Christian against a 
foe which evidently he thought the other writ- 
ers had not observed. These foes were wolves 
in sheep's clothing, "who had crept in unawares.'- 
They wgre not only nominal and dead in respect 
to the church, but they were fuUy alive to the 
service of Satan. Some of them, like Cain, per- 
forme^d formal service without having any faith 
in It. Others, like Balaam, were trying to serve 
God and the world at the same time. Others, 



22 THE ECCENTRIC THINKEU. 



like Corali, would arrogate to tliein!?;elves a call 
to be teachers, not witlistandiiig they were both 
igiioraut and shiM. (See 11th verse.) 

The contents of The book of Revelation were 
made known to St. John on the Island of Pat- 
mos. Tliese things most likely refer to the va- 
rious spiritual states of the general church 
from then until the end of time. Surely noth- 
iiig spoken of in this book has ever been lit- 
erally fulfilled, or the newspaper reporters would 
have published it to the world; then why should 
any expect a literal or material fulfillment of the 
rest ? Babylon must fa^ll-^that is, confusion 
and sectarian logomachy in the general church 
must cease; then peace and harmony will pre- 
vail, and charity, the end and object of all the 
commandments, will actuate every true heart. 
Tlien all true Christians will be united in love, 
and by faith meet upon the general and sig- 
nificant luoposition, 'Hhat Jesus Christ is the 
only hope for a lost and ruined world.'' Then 
the kingdoms of the world will have become 
the Lord's, and the book of Eevelations wound 
to a close. * 

Christ has ever been the central figure of the 
AYhole Bible, every i)ortion of wliicli refers e'ther 
directly or 'ndirectly to Him. He ' •])ake wi; i au- 
tliorlty a:, never a man : ]>• ke before, no' vrith 



THE ECCEN'PRIC THlNKHlf. 23 



the dictation of a worldly law-giver, but witli 
power and o:reat certainty, like God. AVhen 
the people enquired of Him what they should do 
to "work the works of God," Jesus did not tell 
them hoic^ nor did he refer them to any law, but 
He simply told them what the work of God is, 
and left them, as intelligent freemen, to do it or 
not, as they please. '*This is the work of God, 
that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.'' 
(See John, 6-29.) 

The Jews who were under the old law (no 
others ever were) are compared to jninors, who 
were similar to servants; while Cbristians under 
the liberty of the Gos].>el are represented as 
being of age and ft'ee — no longer servants, but 
sons. (See Gal., 4-1:7.) ^VFci es, the old law- 
giver, told the people precisely how to conduct 
themselves, and how to perform even the little 
things in the common affairs of life. He talked 
to them and wrote for them just about like par- 
ents instructing and commanding small children. 
But Christ Jesus, the great teacher came from 
God, wrote no law, nor do we know that he 
ever authorized any one to i)erform that work. 
We know not that He ever wrote a single sen- 
tence, except Avhen He wrote on the ground in 
the presence of a certain woman and her accus- 
ers. The Christians' law, under the new coven- 



24 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

ant, is written in the heart by the spirit of the 
living- God. (See Jer., 31-33, Heb., 8-10 ; also 
2 Cor., 3-2:3.) The ]!^ew Testament is pre-emi- 
nently a book of arguments, examples, warnings 
and exhortations. Law does not deal in argu- 
ments, but in "Thou shalf' and -'Thou shalt not,'' 
and obedience to it is forced, if necessary, by the 
power that originated it. But the teacliiiig, 
works and whole life of our Savior were in keep- 
ing with the central prophecy concerning the 
liberty of the Gospel dispengation : "The just 
shall walk by faith" ; not by law, nor by minute 
instructions, for we are to "be judged by the law 
of liberty.'' (See James, 2-12.) Christ Himself 
is the way— the example, pattern or law. He 
came to show us how to live, how to die, and 
how we shall be resurrected. His yoke is easy 
and His burden is light. The Jews were not 
able to bear the burden of the old law, but mod- 
ern Christian teachers would burden us with 
both it and the I^ew Testament as a law ; conse- 
Cjuently they have it all so badly mixed up that 
neither they nor others understand the Chris- 
tians' law of liberty. It is now impossible (at 
least quite inconvenient and burdensome to 
some) to observe the Jewish Sabbath, for in 
cold climates lire in dwellings is very necessary, 
and if the sentence of death was executed upon 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 



every one who commits a petty offense on the 
Sabbath, like the man who gathered sticks on 
the Sabbath day, surely the world would be de- 
])opulated about the second Sabbath. 

Hence the law of Gospel liberty says : ''Let 
no man judge you in respect of a holy day, or 
the Sabbath days." (See Col., 2-16.) * ^-One 
man esteemeth one day above another ; anothe^^ 
esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be 
fully persuaded in /?/>>• oicn mind/^ — Eom. 14-5. 
Let us, then, not be harsh nor hard in our criti- 
cism and judgment of others, since each must 
stand or fall to his own master, but let us ever 

manifest charity toward others, who do not be- 
lieve and act just as we do. 

In the fifteenth chapter of Acts we see the 
Apostles and elders come together to consider 
whether or not the Gentile converts should be 
subjected to the law of Moses. They unani- 
mously decided that they should not; nor did 
thoy refer them to any other law, nor did they 
l^romise to write one for them at their earliest 
convenience. If any written law^ was obligatory, 
this certainly would have been a good time to 
mention it ; but not so, for it semed good to the 
Holy Ghost and them to lay upon the Gentile 
converts no greater burdens than these neces- 
sary things, which was evidently only a prescri}:)- 
tion for their convalescence from idolatry. 



26 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

Xo part of the New Testament reads like a law. 
The preaching of our Savior and the Apostles 
was made up of arguments, warnings and exhor- 
tations. They address the world as of age — as 
intelligent adults — and leave each one in freedom 
to obey or disobey. Jesus says: ''Take up your 
cross and follow Me f that is, do as he was do- 
ing, submit to your lot, avoid sin and go about 
doing good — acting thus according to one's 
faith, understanding and opportunities is cer- 
tainly all that is required of a new creature in 
Christ. (Gal., 6-10, 15, 16.) 'Tor, brethren, ye 
have been called into liberty ; only use not liberty 
for an occasion of the flesh, but by love serve one 
another.'' ''^Bearye one another's burdens, and 
so fulfill the law of Christ." To believe on Jesus 
Christ and love one another comprises the whole 
Christian duty under the liberty of the Gospel 
dispensation. (See 1 John, 3-22, 23 ; also 2-27. 



O-OID- 
All nature with its still small voice 

Speaks of God Divine ; 
And in the Bible we delight ' 

To see His glory shine. 
The fool hath said in his heart: "There is no 
God;-— Ps., 14-1. 

While the heavens and the whole book of na- 
ture proclaim the attributes and glory of the 
Eternal God, yet our benighted minds, unaided 
by Divine revelations, would fail to comprehend 
these grand lessons. However, it appears that 
most every nation, tribe and people yet reached 
by civilization and Christianity has some knowl- 
edge of a Supreme Being. Tliis knowledge has 
evidently been handed down to those who have 
not the light of revelation by tradition; wit- 
nessed in the book of nature, and the spirit of 
God, reacliing their hearts through these media, 
has indelibly impressed this truth upon their 
minds, never to be erased by time nor surround- 
ing circumstances. 



2S TJUfi EOCENlltlC THINKER, 

Where the Bible is not known and read, the 
knowledge of a Supreme Being is necessarily 
vague, but the fact that images and many other 
things are kept, revered and worshipped is clear 
evidence that, to some extent at least, even the 
heathen are in possession of this knowledge. 
Not only so, but their magnificent temples, ex- 
pensive worship and the time devoted to tbeir 
religion show conclusively that they prize tbis 
knowledge very highly. 

When but little is known, even of any physi- 
cal object, we do not expect a perfect map, 
chart or picture of it; and of course there can 
be no clearly defined ideas on the subject, but 
we can only indulge in speculations and conjec- 
tures until more perfect information can be 
obtained. Think of tbe wild stories told of the 
Atlantic ocean and the American continent be- 
fore Columbus came over here, followed by 
European civilization, exploring and subjugat- 
ing until the truth was obtained. It is so now 
with Africa, but we may reasonably hope soon to 
have correct maps and a well-defined idea of the 
Avhole continent. Eeasoning from a worldly 
standpoint, we may therefore conclude and 
hope that the heathen world will receive more 
light on this subject, when they, by the exercise 
of their volition, shall have proven themselves 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKEH. 29 



worthy custouiaDS or receptacles of so valuable 
a treasury. After the trausgression, when 
Adam's mind was becoming shrouded m sinful 
darkness, he was not considered a worthy cus- 
todian of the tree of life. He might have eaten 
its fruit and thus perpetuated his sinful life — 
making salvation impossible. Tjjei^efore, the 
Lord in mercy drove him out and protected the 
tree by an angelic guard, armed with the tlaming 
Word. From this fact, the divine Providence 
and the wonderful love of God for a sinful world, 
we may reasonably conclude that there are good 
and merciful reasons why the heathen have not, 
thus far, received a more correct knowledge of 
the true and living God. They might have tram- 
pled this '^ pearl of ,oreat price '^ under their 
unhallowed feet, and been worse off than they 
are now. 

Evidently the manifestations of the Divine 
Being to human intelligence depends to a great 
extent ui)on the mental and spiritual state of 
those who receive and retain this knowledge. 
Furthermore, the idea of God possessed by each 
individual is formed and colored largely by his 
own peculiar characteristics and general bent 
of mind. 

A revengeful person is apt to dwell very much 
on the wrath of God. He serves God more from 



3o 1 HE ECCENTRIC TBINKER. 



fear than love. Mount Sinai is generally in full 
view, and he trembles as he beholds the wrath- 
ful appearance of the Almighty God. A yawn- 
ing hell and the worm that never dies keeps him 
in the fear of God — without these he might not 
be religious at all. A person kindly disposed 
delights in Jhinking and talking of the goodness 
and mercy of his kind Heavenly Father. He 
serves the Lord more from love than fear. A 
lover of learning is more apt to dwell on the 
wisdom of God. He has much pleasure in see- 
ing the reasons why. He deals in arguments, 
and draws his conclusions accordingly. In, 
Peter, John and Paul we may readily see these 
three characters strikingly portrayed. The Isra- 
elites were a sensual, stubborn and stiff-necked 
race of people, and perhaps nothing short of the 
fearful manifestation of Deity on Mount Sinai 
would have proi)erly affected them. 

Even Christians of our own days are obvious 
exhibitit>ns of these universal laws on this. sub- 
ject. Surely one of the peculiar characteristics 
of the present as well as past generations is 
fickleness or instability — a slack, irregular way 
of speaking and acting ; and in keeping with this 
peculiarity, the Lord is considered like them- 
selves, and thousands stand in jeopardy, await- 
ing for Him to come over to their terms and 



THE ECCENTEIC TEIINKRE. 



bless them — even tboiigli cueli an act would be 
incompatible with scTeral other diviiic i)eriec- 
tions. Wherefore we are divinely informed that 
^'God m not a man that He should lie ; neither the 
son of man that He should repent'' and that 
^*The Lord m not slack concerniDg His promieec, 
as some men count slackness/' as if he had caid: 
"I have iiitinite love and mercy for you all^ and 
am not willing that any of you should x)eriLh, but 
lam not like yourselves — I am pure and holy 
and change not — you are in freedom — you can 
and must change and come to Me. that you may 
be blessed and have life." 

Xor is this a conjecture of mine, for David 
evidently teaches the same thing: ^'With the 
merciful thou wilt shovv thyself merciful, with 
an upright man thou, wilt show thyself upright, 
with the pure thou wilt show thyself pure, and 
with the froward thou wilt show thyself fro- 
ward." 

These things being true, we need not be snr- 
13rif:ed that the heathen worshiper attributecto 
his god the various passions andappetites which 
reign in his own breast. Their gods are repre- 
sented as eating, drinking, fighting, changing 
and acting just like a frail, sinful, mortal man. 
These worshipers are not capable of thinking of 
an Omnipresent Deity in unity. They have a 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 



god for every i)articular city, art, science, and 
the different occupations in life. But, unques- 
tionably, this is far better than no idea at all of 
a Divine Being. They know no better, and of 
course they cannot be expected to believe and 
act like those who are more highly favored with 
Divine light on this subject. If they do the 
best they can under surrounding circum- 
stances, we may conclude, arguing from the 
mercj^ of our Heaveidy Father, that it will 
be well with them in the world to come. St. 
Paul says : "For when the Gentiles, which have 
not the law (or light on divine subjects) do by 
nature the things contained in the law, these 
having not the law, are a law unto themselves, 
which show the work of the law written in their 
hearts, their conscience also" bearing witness, 
and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or ex- 
cusing one another.^' 

But after all.man^ of them are not so ignorant 
as some would make us believe: for their writings 
Contain much wholesome moral inGtruction, not- 
withstaiidiiigthe great amount of foolishness and 
superstition with which it is blended. 

But in the Bible we find the true and living God 
exhibited in alibis beauty, loveliness and grand- 
eur. '-Man by wisdom knew not God,*- but it 
has pleased Him to reveal Himself to His intelli- 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 83 

gent creatures at various times and in different 
ways. But as ^'no man liath at any time seen 
Him/^ and as He is a spirit and perfect in every re- 
spect whatsoever, and as man is mortal, finite 
and depraved, Ave can only think of Him and 
know Him by His attributes as they are revealed 
to us in the Bible and works of nature. 

The God of the Bible is omniscient — that is, 
He knows all things. He sees the end from the 
beginning. With Him there is neither past nor 
future, but one eternal N ovr. He knew His free 
creature — man — would sin, fall and entail misery 
and death upon his posterity to the end of time. 
Well for us that He knew this, for, seeing man's 
fallen, helpless state before he wac created, He, 
in great mercy, provided a remedy for hie res- 
toration in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ; 
therefore we read of Jesus as a Lamb, slain from 
the foundation of the v^orld. Even the hairs of 
our heads are numbered, and not a sparrow falls 
to the ground without His notice. '^Known unto 
God are all His works from the beginning of 
the world.'' 

Our God is omnipotent — that is. He hath all 
power. He can do all things that are consist- 
ent with Himself. The Bible informs us that it 
is impossible for^God to lie; therefore we iimy 
with due reverence sav that He can do nothino: 



8i THE ECCENTRIC THINKER, 



which is inconsistent with His own divine per- 
fections. Surely He cannot destroy Himself 
nor change truth into error nor error into truth. 
There never was a time when five times five 
made a.ny number except twenty-five. AYe 
might call it thirty , forty, or any other number, 
but the truth would, nevertheless, be unchanged. 
I apprehend that truth is eternal and immut- 
able, and if so, it can be neither changed nor 
destroyed. Man is certainly a free moral agent, 
and while God is omnipotent, He is also immut- 
able; therefore, it is certainly unreasonable to 
suppose that the Almight^^ can save an impeni- 
tent sinner, to raise a person from sinful pollu- 
iiou to a state of holiness, without the consent 
of his will would evidently be equivalent to his 
destruction as a human being. AH through the 
Bible we see that God respects the free agency 
of man, and while He is omnipotent and wills 
not the death of any, He calls upon man to re- 
pent and come back to his favor ; never using 
coercion, but is ever kind and long-suffering to- 
ward His sinful, free creatures. These facts 
being constantly borne in mind, we would not 
be so apt to jeopardize our own hapM^)inecs by 
Avaiting foromniptenceto accomplish something 
for us which is inconsistent with the other di- 
vine attributes. If we are wholly committed to 



THE ECCEXTEIC THINKER. 35 

God and His spirit dwells in us, \Ye may say 
with St. Paul : '*! can do all things through 
Christ strengthening me''; that is, all things 
which the Lord would have me to accomplish. 

Omnipresence is anoth er divine attribute. God 
is present everywhere, while He beholds the 
minutcie of the whole universe. He is present 
with each individual, ATe cannot hide from His 
presence, even though we should liee to the 
most remote and obscure portions of the eiirth, 
and if we should rioe up to Heaven or sink down 
into hell, we could not evade his omnipresence, 
''^either is there any creature that is not' mani- 
fest in Plis sight, for all things are opened before 
Him with whom we have to do.-' Men may 
wish there was no God and try to forget Him, 
and may even express doubts of His existence, 
but in their quiet moments, notwithstanding 
all their efforts to escape from the Divine pres- 
ence, the still, small voice within is saying: 
*^-Thou, God, seest me.'' "But as God is a spirit, 
w^e should not think of His omnipresence as we 
do the presence of a human being. David says : 
" The Lord God is a sun." Xow the sun is pres- 
ent bj'its light and heat throughout its whole 
realm ; so God is present in every portion of the 
universe by the exhibition of his love, g'^''% 
wisdom and power. The earth turns itself :'. i 



S6 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

the sun and there is partial darkness, but still it 
receives some reflected light from other planets; 
so man, being a free agent, may turn himself 
from the wisdom, love and mercy of God, 
plunge into sinful pleasures, refuse or neglect 
to read the Bible, and even scoff at divine wor- 
ship, but still ^'the Lord God is a sun'' to him, 
and pours into his heart at least reflected rays 
of the divine light. Let no one deceive himself 
and sa3^ with the fool : ^'There is no God.'' 

In thinking of the Lord our God and His won- 
derful works, we should never forget His immut- 
ability. He says of Himself : ''I change not." 
Since God is omnipotent, and knows all things, 
does what He pleases, and is only pleased to do 
what is best, right and according to truth; there- 
fore, there can be no necessity for him ever to 
change in any respect whatsoever He is the 
same unchangeable God, ^'yesterday, to-day and 
forever." Indeed it seems that this attribute, 
together Avith love and mercy, has saved man- 
kind from utter destruction, for the Lord by His 
prophet says: ^'I am the Lord — I change not; 
^/i^r^/or^ ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." 
True, he created man and pronounced him very 
good, gave him a delightful home with the com- 
:'^ and to dress and keep the garden; yet after 
t.i3 tr-insgression He drove him from the gar- 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



den and prohibited his access to the tree of life, 
and when the children of men had multiplied 
upon the earth and become quite sinful and re- 
bellious, it is said that God repented that He 
had made man upon the earth; while it is written 
in another place : ''God is not a inairthat he 
should lie ; neither the son of man, that he should 
repent.'' It is also said that God is angry with 
the wicked every day, but we read elsewhere 
that "God is love,*' and that God so loved the 
world that He gave His only begotten son to 
provide salvation for sinful man. Xow, all this 
does, indeed, seem ss if God were changeable, 
and that he did change from love to anger and 
from anger to love. But since God is omnis- 
cient, and of coiu'se knew the destiny of all 
things even before man was created, were such 
a thing possible, it does, in the modern aecep- 
tation of the term, seem unreasonable that the 
Lord should repent of man's creation. By ex- 
amining other texts of Scripture, we may obtain 
more light on this mysterious subject. 

Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, and 
we are told that it obeyed him. But it is a 
known fact that the sun. in respect to our earth, 
never moves. Nevertheless Ave continue to say 
the sun rises and sets. Jesus called himself 
the son of man because he appeared like other 



THE ECCKNTEIC THINKER. 



men, but in triitli lie w?iG tlie son of the Eternal 
God. From these and other portions of Scrip- 
ture, we learn that the Bible sometimes expres- 
ses itself according to the understanding of 
those to whom it is addressed. To rebellious^ 
sinful man, God appears to be angiy. From a 
worldly standpoint, it is very properl^^ denomin- 
ated anger, but as viewed in the light of Heaven 
it is all love and mercy, A wicked, rebellious 
and incorrigible son forsakes the parental roof^ 
goes into a foreign country, and tells the inhab- 
itants of that country that his parents are angry 
with him, and were so hard on him that he was 
compelled to leave home. The parents love him 
devotedl3^, notwithstanding all his faults; and 
desiring his welfare, would make any sacrifice to 
win him back to their loving embrace. So with 
us and our Father in Heaven. Man became 
sinful and rebellious, was afraid, and ran from 
his Creator. He spake of Him as a God who 
takes vengeance, and thought the Lord was 
only seeking him that he might be punished. But 
God, in exhibition of His fatherly love and 
merc3^, sought His rebellious children, found 
them, bought and redeemed them by presenting 
to their captor — Death — "the unspeakable gift.'^ 
Surel^^ our Father changes not, but has loved 
us most wonderfull.}^ all the time. It is some- 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 80 



times said that God was angry with man be- 
cause of his transgressions, and would have 
destroyed the whole race but for the merciful 
interposition and mediation of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. But if this idea was strictly correct, 
surely the Savior would never have said: ''God 

so loved the world that He gave His only begot- 
ten son, that whosoever believeti) in Him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life/' But some- . 
thing like the following would have conveyed 
the idea: "God was so angry with the vforld 
that He would have destroyed it but for ]uy me- 
diation and intercession.'' But the truth is, 
God had said: "In the day thou eatest thereof 
(the forbidden fruit) thou shalt surely die."^Cer- 
tainl^^ there is no condition either expressed or 
understood. Man must die, or God's decree be 
changed. Christ does not save us from suffer- 
ing death, the penalty of the broken law, but 
He promises a new life — a life from the dead — 
as we all well know from our own experience and 
observation, and also from the following texts 
of Scripture : "Dust thou art and unto dust 
shalt thou return." "As in Adam all die, even 
so in Christ shall all be made alive." Thus ex- 
plained and understood, the immutability of God 
is vindicated, and we are better enabled to ap- 



40 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



predate His wonderful love, manifested in the 
redemption of fallen man. 

The Lord Almighty is infinitely just ; and 
hence all His acts are also in keeping with this 
divine attribute. "Every one of us shall ac- 
count of himself to God,'' ''who will render to 
every man according to his deeds'' — ''according 
as his works shall be." No child of God need 
fear what man may or can do unto him, for his 
Father "ruleth in the kingdom of men," and all 
things shall work for his good. But he who 
does evil should fear, because sooner or later 
his sins will find him out, and he will be re- 
quired to render an account according to the 
laws of infinite justice. For a time "the wicked 
may flourish like the green bay tree," and prosper 
in all his undertakings, but some day he will be 
weighed in an even balance, and will be reward- 
ed or punished accordingly. 

But of all the attributes by which divinity is 
revealed to humanity, none are so dear to sinful 
man as mercy and love. Omniscience, omni- 
presence, omnipotence and immutability are so 
exalted, so wonderful and so unlike frail, ignor- 
ant, sinful humanity that we are overwhelmed 
with their grandeur and should fall into the dust 
or sink into our own insignificance. Infinite j us- 
tice frightens us because avc are conscious of 



THEECCENTRIC THINKER. 41 

guilt ill ten thousand instances ; but mercy and 
love encourage us to enter by faith boldly into 
the ''Holy of Holies'' and obtain repentance and 
forgiveness of sins and also a rich supply of that 
Avonderful grace promised by our kind Heavenly 
Father. 

These attributes are exhibited in the goodness 
of God toward His unworthy, ungrateful, iiiap - 
preciative, rebellious human creatures. "'De- 
spisest thou the riches of His goodness, forbear- 
ance and long-suffering, not knowing that the 
goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance f 
''OurGodisa consuming fire/ when His om- 
nipotence and justice are alone considered: but 
viewed in the light of love andn ercy w^e discov- 
er that ''God is love.'' Ten thousand times, and 
in as many ways, they have contributed to hu- 
man happiness. Mercy is slighted, but it is 
offered again ; love is spurned and scoff'ed at, 
but the sinner is still — and forever — the object 
of God's loving care. The love and mercy man- 
ifested in 'Hhe uiisi)eakable gift/' of our Lord 
Jesus Christ beggars all earthly description ; but 
the Savior summed the Avhole matter in the 
little^ BIG word SO, which certainly no earthly 
lexicographer will ever be able, in fullness, to 
define. Surely, then, nothing but willing, sin- 



42 THE ECCE:STTIC THINKER. 

fill mdiilgeiice can keep us separated from the 
love of God, in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 

But our God has revealed Himself under dif- 
ferent names, at various times ; but we most cer- 
tainlj" should not conclude that these names are 
simply appellations of the Deity, but that each 
one signilieG the rela^tion of the Divine Being, 
borne to His creajtures at that particlar time. 
We first read of God — the Creator of alf things. 
After the fall of man, the Almighty God pro- 
claimed His decrees; as if He had said: "I, 
who have all power, will punish the transgress- 
or/' To Abraham and his descendants He be- 
came Jehovah — ^the God of Israel especially. 
Pharoah was informed that Jehovah, the God of 
Israel, was ^' I Am that I Am.'^ Moses said to 
Pharaoh : '^ I Am hath sent me to 3^ou f that is, 
the self-existent God — not like the gods of 
Egypt, who owe their existence to some other 
being. He is also called the Lord God — the 
Lord 3^our God — the Lord of Hosts and the God 
of the whole earth — each of which signifying the 
peculiar relation borne to the people at that par- 
ticular time. 

But under the Christian dispensation we know 
Him under the endearing name of Father. He 
was once the God of the Jews especiall}^, but 
the middle wall of partition between the Jews 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 4 3 



and Gentiles has been torn down; and ^'tiie 
grace of God that bringeth Galvation hath ap- 
X)eared to all men.-' The other sheep having 
been brought in, now, ^'we are all the children 
of God by faith in the Lord Jesxic Christ. One 
is our Father, even God, and all vf e are brethren. 
AVe are not come unto the mountain that might 
not be touched, that was covered with blackness 
and darkness, vvhere The Almigliiy God made a 
fearful manifestation of himself ;'' but '^ we are 
come unto Mount Sion, the City of the living 
God, the heavenly Jerusalem,'^ and to our mer- 
ciful Heavenly Father, who keeps constantly 
before Him, a record of our names, '4n the 
Lamb's fair book of life.'' Xo particular person, 
tribe, or nation, has any peculiar rights in this 
city ; for God is OUR Father, and we are the chil- 
dren of His loving care. '^ Let us therefore 
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we 
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time 
of need.'' 

In the time of human innocence, in the Gar- 
den of Eden, it seems that man was present 
with God, and that the3^ conversed with eacli 
other, in some way unknown since the transgres- 
sion, jvihu could not liave seen God with his 
material eyes, for it is written: "Xo man hath 
seen God at any time." Man being an image of 



44 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



God, and absolutely pure, it seems most prob- 
able that the Creator, in pure heavenly light^ 
manifested Himself dii^ectly to the soul of the 
creature, by inspirations through the medium of 
consciousness. When these corruptable bodies 
shall have put on incurruption, and Death is 
swallowed up in victory, and Paradise is re- 
gained, we may then hope, but not sooner, to en- 
j oy such an exalted privilege. Sin removed man 
so far from God that the divine presence was 
not afterwards realized, as it was in the Eden 
state. Man became morally blind, and hence 
the worship by faith began; aiid accordingly we 
read : '' By faith Abel offered a more excellent 
sacrilice than Cain/' This kind of worship must 
necessarih^ coiitinue until the object of faith is 
realized, and fruition is begun in the Elysian 
Fields of the great beyond. 

But in this world we must suffer persecutions, 
endure hardships, ''walk by faith,*^ ^'live by 
faith,'^ and ^^ hold out faithful to the end," that 
we may, at last, die in the triumph of a living 
faith, and enter into the immediate presence of 
God our Father, and enjo^'the blessedness of the 
eternal world. 

]N[otwithstanding '■^God is of purer eyes than 
to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniqui- 
ty," yet, because of His great love for fallen 



THE ECCENTRIC THIXKEU. 45 

humanity, He lias not only made himself known 
under different names, but, time and again re- 
vealed Himself in different ways. To Abraham 
and others, He appeared as an angel in the hu- 
man form. He appearedto some in dreams and 
visions. Moses saw Him in the burning bush; 
and the whole host of Israel witnessed His 
wrathful appearance on Mount Sinai. 

But in these last days, after '' the fullness of 
time had come,'' and a people had been x)re- 
paredto receive Him, He manifested Himself in 
the man Christ Jesus — ^^His son and our Savior, 
who was born of the Virgin Mar3", and cradled 
in a manger. " On that woman's breast hung 
the Eternal God," of course, as manifested in 
the child Jesus. ^' Through this man is preached 
unto 3^ou the forgiveness of sins," is the lan- 
guage of inspiration. " God, in these last days, 
has spoken unto us by His Son." ^^ GoTl was 
manifest in the flesli-/' not one i)erson of the 
Trinity only, for again we read : " In Him (Jesus) 
dwelleth the God-head bodil3^" t^esus says: 
''The Father that dw^elleth in Me, He doeth the 
\vorks." The prophet says of Him : '' His name 
shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Tli e Miglrhj 
God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of 
Peace. Again: "Lo! this is our GOD, we have 
waited long for Him." 



46 THE ECCEXTRIC THIXKER. i 

^ I 

All tiiege texts, and many more whicli could 
be cited, evidenth^ refer to tlie coming and man- 
ifestation of the true and living God, to our 
sinful world, in, by, and tlirough our Lord. 
Jesus Clirist, wlio was at the same time both God 
and man. Jesus came as the babe of the man 
ger, grew to manhood, and called Himself the 
Son of mail — evident^ beca,urj,e to the external 
senses, he in every respect presented tlie ap- 
pearance of an ordinary m.an ; He would not im- 
pose upon the corporeal sences of the people to 
whom He would minister; who thus judge of 
things by their ap])earance, knowing the incre- 
dulity of their benighted minds. He respected 
their agency and patiently and lovingly waited 
until ocular proof of His divine mission could be 
given. So at His baptism, when the full time 
had come for Him to enter upon His public 
work, the people saic the Divine Spirit, in the 
bodily shape of a dove, descend upon him ; and 
they lieard Viie heavenly voice saying: ''This is 
My beloved Son, i]i whom I am well pleased.'' 
This declaration was repeated upon the mount 
of Iransfiguration; and Jesus, hj various words 
and vrorks, such as the people well knew none 
but God could perfoiii-, ccnvinced a few of His 
divinity: and finally Peter, ^'S spokesman for the 
rest, said unto Him : '• We believe 'and art sure 



THE ECCE]STRIC THINKER. 47 

that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God *' — meaning evidently, the human manifes- 
tation, of God. An angel api)eared to the ^yife 
of Manoah, and she spoke of him to her husband 
as the man of God; and, when, afterwards, the 
angel appeared to both husband and wife, they 
evidently considered him a mere man of God, 
and wanted to know his name, that at some future 
time they might reward him for his kindness. 
But when tliev had seen him in the Hame from 
the altar, 'Hhen Manoah knew that he was an 
angel of the Lord,'' and said to his wife, "We 
shall surely die, because y>"e have seen God.'^ 
To them this mysterious visitor was ilrst a man, 
then an angel, and finally God. Even so, when 
the disciples of Jesus had seen the dove, and 
heard the heavenly voice, and had seen Him as- 
cend on high, they w^ere fully persuaded that 
their Master was the Messiah spoken of by the 
T)rophets. As a man, Jesus ate, drank, slept, 
suffered and died ; but as God, His disciples 
plainly saw Him clothed with divine power, and 
able to discern their secret thoughts and in- 
tents of the heart. He died as a man, but arose 
from the dead as God. Doubting Thomas, 
thrusting his hand into the pierced side of the 
arisen Savior, exclaimed: ''My Lord and — 
God.'' The martyr Stex)hen died ''calling i . i 



48 THE ECCE^^TTIC THINKER 



God, and saying. Lord Jesus, receiye my spirit. '^ 
Jesus was in possession of ''all power in 
Heaven and in earth •/' therefore lie says to sin- 
sick souls, " Gome unto ME and I will give you 
rest.'' No wonder John, in speaking of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, sa3^s : " This is the true God, 
and eternal life/' Jesus said to Phillip : ^'He 
tliat liath seen me liath seen the Father.'' 

Just before His death, he said to His sorrow- 
ing disciples : '' I will not leave you comfort- 
less, I Avill come unto 3^ou." '' The Father will 
love 3^ou, and ice will come and make an abode 
Avith you." He Y>"as, evidently, speaking of the 
Comforter, or as he elsewhere expressed it — the 
Hol3^ Ghost, which he said vfas then ivith them, 
but after His departure, should dwell in them. 
Long before this, the Lord, by His prophet had 
spoken of this very thing, saying : " I will put 
Mj law in their inward x^f^i'ts, paid VA^rite it in 
their hearts, and vrill be their God, and they 
shall be My people f they shall not say to each 
other '' know the Lord," for each shall know for 
Mmself. So, noA^^, God is present with us by 
His Holy Spirit, and works in us, both to will 
and to do. "• Know je not that ye are the tem- 
ples of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth 
in you?" What! know ye not that your body 
i. the temj^le of the Holy Ghost, which is in j^ou, 



THE ECCENTRIC^THINKER. 4J 



wliicli ye have of God, and ye are not 3'oiir 
own^?'' ^^The love of God is shed abroad in 
our hearts b^^ the Holy Ghost which is given un- 
to us.'' 

From all these texts, and many more vfhich 
could be cited, it seems very evident that the 
man Jesus, the only son of the Eternal God, (not 
the Eternal Son of God, for God the Son is an 
unscriptural phrase) clothed with all the divine 
attributes, was the human manifestaition of God 
our Father — the Creaitor of all things. But all 
things were created by our Lord Jesus Christ ; 
therefore He must be only another manifestation 
of the same ever-living God. 

AVe may further conclude from the passages 
quoted, since the divine perfections are attrib- 
uted to the Holy Ghost, and this term is used in- 
terchangeably with both God our Father, and our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that the Holy Ghost is the 
spiritual manifestation of the same Supreme Be- 
ing. ^'For through Him"' — the man Jesus — 
"we both" — Jews and Gentiles — " have access 
by one spirit unto the Father." Wherefore we 
are now enabled to understand how we may ap- 
proach God, our Father, in our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and worship Him in spirit and in truth, 
knowing that no others can worship Him accep- 
tably; and we can also see why 'Hhere is none 



50 THE ECCENTPvIC THINKER. 

other name given under Heaven whereby we 
must be saved/' except tlie name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Having Christ formed within, the 
hope of glory, we can appreciate 

THE EXPERIENCE OF CAPT. KIDD. 

^'Throug-h all this world below 

God is seen all around ; 
Search hilis and valleys through- 
There He's found. 

The growing of the corn, 
The lilly and the thorn, 
The pleasant and forlorn, 
All declare God is there. -» 

In the meadows dressed in green — 
There He's seen." 

"The sun to my surprise 
Speaks of God as he flies ; 
The comets in the irblaze 
Give Him praise ; 
The shinino of the stars, 
The moon as it appears, . 
His sacred name declares. 
See them shine all divine ! 

The shades in silence i^rove — 

God's above ! 



" What is Man that thou art mindful of him.'^ 
Ps., 8-4. 

Some one has very properly said: ''Man, 
know thyself/' and another, with equal proprie- 
ty, has insisted that "the proper study of man- 
kind, if man.'' But, notwithstanding these wise 
and timely sayings, hum.an beings are so much 
disposed to gossip and magnify the faults of 
others that we may reasonably conclude few 
ever take time to examine themselves, know 
their own faults or study human nature. We, 
too, frequently know all about our neighbors, 
and are sure that they will cheat, lie or take any 
advantage of others, and esi)ecially ourselves, 
should they have the opportunity; but we are 
willingly ignorant that an inspired penman has 
said : "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O, Man, 
whosoever thou art, that judgest, for wherein 
thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, 
for thou that judgest doest the same things." 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



Let IIS, then, be veiy careful how we expresB 
ourselves about our fellows, but ever manifest 
charity in dealing with human weaknesses, lest 
we pass the sentence of condemnation upon 
ourselves. 

Since it is of the greatest importance that we 
know ourselves — or, rather, Man as a complex 
being — let us begin the investigation and see 
what we can learn of this m^-sterious character. 
We know something of him as he now is from 
our own experience and observation, and also 
from newspapers and histories : but, for a knowl- 
edge of his origin and future destiny, we are 
wholly dependent upon divine revelation. The 
term Man is generic, and is therefore properly 
applied to every man, woman and child of the 
whole human race. Science teaches that Man is 
an animal of erect posture, and endowed with 
speech, reason and volition ; but we should not 
forget that he is a spiritual being, clothed with a 
material body. Evident^ these originally con- 
stituted the specific difference between man and 
other animals. Thus we see that Man is a dual, 
double, or complex being, and is composed of 
soul and bod^^ The soul is the immaterial and 
immortal part, and is apparently composed of 
mind and spirit, which invariably operate to- 
gether, and alternate in supremacy, according 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 53 

as the action of tlie soul is toward material or 
fminaterial tilings, the mind taking the lead in 
the acquisition of knowledge of the sciences and 
all worldly matters, and the spirit, when the soul 
would feed on angelic food. 

This invisible being is clothed with a material 
bod3' which is composed of bones and flesh and 
is covered with skin, having numerous and di- 
verse members, each of which constitutes a 
grand essential of this wonderful and complex 
whole. Each member always performs its func- 
tions well, unless it is prevented from so doing 
by some opposing force. The br?in is located 
in the head and serves as a kind of lens or 
Avindow through which the soul looks and oper- 
ates, while having intercourse with either ma- 
terial or immaterial objects. Phrenology teaches 
that the intellectual faculties of the brain are 
located in the front, the moral or religious to- 
ward the top and the animal back of the ears. 
So, in this respect,man is a three-fold being — that 
is, he is intellectual, moral or religious, and ani- 
mal. The will, reigning supreme in the city of 
''Man-Soul,^' causes either department of facul- 
ties to be brought into lively exercise; and thus, 
it seems evident on general principles that each 
individual is about what he icills to be. That 
portion of the brain which is most frequently 



54 TPIE ECCENTRIC THINKER 

exercised is said to be miich softer than the 
parts which remain inactive, and therefore al- 
ways ready for use, while it requires considera- 
ble mental effort to arouse the dormant facul- 
ties and impress them into service. If a per- 
son is so disposed he can, unquestionably, de- 
velop his mental power in one department and 
let some or all the rest remain dormant ; but 
human happiness and usefulness in life evidently 
demand that all of them be cultivated and their 
Tespectivo powers properly developed. Hard 
labor will develop the phjT^sical or animal pow- 
ers, and hence a laboring man is more apt to be 
LStrong, robust and healthy. A person should 
study the sciences and good books generally, 
that his intellectual powers may be brought out, 
and knowledge acquired. One should pray, 
sing,; read the Bible and engage in pubhc wor- 
ship, that his moral and rehgious prochvities 
may be encouraged and he be kept in tlie favor 
of God. Any person who is constantly devot- 
ed to intellectual and scientific investigations, 
does not labor nor attend to rehgious matters, 
will keep the brain active in his front-head, but 
the other portions will be cold and lifeless. The 
animal brain not being exercised, he is apt to be 
lazy, and the religious powers xeceiving no at- 
tention, he evidently exposes himself to skepti- 



THE ECCEXTEIC THINKER. 



cism, or some of its kindred infatuations. One 
wlio devotes most of his thoughts to matters of 
religion, who has but little intellectual training, 
who ignores scientific investigation, and who in- 
sists that, literally, each day must provide for 
itself, is apt to become a religious fanatic. He 
has no doubts concerning the truth of the Bible, 
and is equally sure that his understanding of it 
is invariably correct, especially on the subject 
of baptism and all the doctrines of his own 
church; therefore he may be known also as a 
sectarian bigot. But one w^ho only seeks to 
gratify his animal propensities, and is destitute 
of moral and intellectual training, is apt to judge 
of everything by his own depraved, abnormal 
appetites and passions. Anything not bringing 
money or animal gratification is unworthy his 
time and attention. He is consequently^ sensu- 
al and gross, and knows but little of intellectual 
and religious enjoyment. Early training has 
much to do in forming character and directing 
one's course in life; therefore, parents and 
teachers should spare no pains in developing 
this three-fold nature of the child. These 
tliouglits may be valued by the reader and dis- 
posed of accordingly. 

Let us now consider Man as he was, as he is 
and as he shall be in the world to come. 



56 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



Learned men without the light of revelation 
have advanced wild conjectures concerning the 
origin of man, and indeed modern philosophers, 
ignoring the Bible account of creation, are simi- 
larly guilty. Some said* man was formed from 
the different parts of the Creator's body. One 
insisted that the first man must have been cre- 
ated in the mud of the river Nile, by the united 
f#rces of moisture and heat. Some attributed 
his origin to the elephant's proboscis, and others 
like the wise men of our day, "to a fortuitous 
flowing together of primeval atoms.'' 

But the Bible account is preferable, being 
simply reasonable and stamped with divine au- 
thoritv. From this source we learn that God 
created man in His own image and after His 
own likeness, and that He breathed into him the 
breath of life and "man became a living soul." 
Every living thing Avas placed under his contro- 
as it also remains even to this day, which makes 
this account still more reasonable. The body 
was formed from the dust of the ground, and re- 
ceiving breath from God, man became a living 
soul. 

God said : "Let us make ?>ia7i'^ — not a mere 
animal, but an intelligent, upright, pure and holy 
being, after the image of his Creator ; and as 
such the creature — man — was endowed with 



THE ECCENTRIC THIXKEIi. 57 

speech, reason and volition, that he might live 
and exercise these wonderful powers as of him- 
self, in perfect freedom — ^like a God, or in the 
likeness of God. A rock image may resemble a 
man — be like him or in his likeness — but it even 
wants life, sense and motion, the essentials of 
animal, as well as speech, reason and volition, 
the higher essentials of man. Even so, while 
man was an image of God, he was not a God, 
because his powers were all derived from, and 
perpetuated by, his Creator. The creature, 
though in the likeness of God, i^ossessing all 
these wonderful attributes of humanity, acting 
as of himself, in perfect freedom, like a God, 
was constantly dependent upon the Creator for 
the continuation of these gifts. 

But it is said that '^man hecame a living soul,'^ 
not merely existed, for that was true of him be- 
fore ; but he now became conscious of his own 
existence and presence with material objects, 
and also of the existence and presence of his 
creator. IN^ow, life evidently implies conscious 
l)resence and also similar existence, when two 
beings are mutually alive to each other ; death, 
of course, is the opposite of this. The father of 
the prodigal son spake of life and death in this 
sense : "My son was dead, but is alive again.^^ 
They were both human beings, but separated; 



m THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 

but when the son returned, they were mutually 
conscious of each other's presence, and there- 
fore each to the other became alive. St. Paul 
says : "I die daily'? — that is, he was traveling 
all the time, and dying to some but becoming 
alive to others. Hence it appears that absolute 
death is an impossibility. 

From all that has been said, it appears that 
man's original position was a kind of connecting 
link between the heavens and the earth ; hence 
the necessity of his two-fold nature, that he 
might experience and enjoy, as it were, a kind 
of double life — life with God and Heaven, and 
life with his fellows and the material world. He 
was a pure, holy, intelligent, spiritual being; and 
being, in these respects, similar to God, who is 
omnipresent, he could be conscious of that 
presence, and thus keep alive unto his Creator. 
This spiritual man was clothed with a material 
body, which served as a kind of mediator be- 
tween him and the material world ; it being com- 
posed of matter like the world, the man, by this 
means, became also alive to materiality. So long- 
as this relation continued, man was necessarily 
happy. His home was called Paradise, which 
means pleasure or delight. Sickness and sor- 
row, strife and contention, war and bloodshed, 
suffering and death, were evidently unknown in 



THEECCENTRIC THINKER. 59 

the Edenic Yocabulary ; but such words as peace, 
pleasure and happiness were peculiarly suitable 
for describing the delightful surroundings and 
ecstatic enjoyment of the inhabitants of the 
Garden of Eden. 

Man was in his natural element — the presence 
and favor of God; and he, with the other works 
of creation, were all right, and each occujued his 
own proper, respective sphere, and constituted 
an essential of this grand, delightful and symmet- 
rical whole. The Creator Avas well pleased with 
all His works, for He pronounced them very 
good. Hence we see that man in his original 
state was human perfection, surrounded by de- 
lightful scenery and clothed with wonderful 
powers. Living as it were in two worlds at the 
same time, — at peace with both — with nothing 
to molest nor make him afraid so long as he, of 
his own free will and accord, remained true to 
his trust in that position and relation — sponta- 
neous bliss and perpetual happiness must have 
been realized continually. The whole face of 
the earth, with all its furniture and decorations, 
were his by clivine inheritance-, wl^ile the sun, 
moon and stars, with all their wonderful magni- 
tude and splendor, were impressed into service 
to furnish him light by day and by night. The 
whole animal creation, from the little dormouse 



60 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

to the mammoth elephant, were submissive and 
obedient to his will. Surely nothing was lack- 
ing, but every human desire must have been 
abundant^ gratified. ''What is manF' Why, 
he is humanitj^ perfected and the personification 
of consummate bliss. 

He might have remained in this exalted state 
of blessedness forever (or until translated 
ae was Elijah, for certainly he could 
not have died since '^ death came by 
sin" — there could have been no death 
before sin,) had he been obedient to his Creator's 
advjsor^^ command. J>ut alas! for him ; and alas! 
for us all J for, being free, he would experiment, 
which robbed him of his rich inheritance and 
proved his ruin. Man, being left in freedom, 
did, by the improper exercise of this grand es- 
sentialand most wonderful attribute of human- 
ity, partake of evil, and he fell from this exalted 
estate and plunged himself and posterity into 
wretchedness, ruin and death. From this mem- 
orable event down to the present day the history 
of man is blackened with crime beyond our 
ability to describe. He was driven from the 
delightful garden because the delight within 
himself had ceased and it was not a suitable 
home for him in a state of rebellion. Even the 
very ground was cursed because of sin and evil 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 61 

plants and vegetables everywhere came forth 
S}>ontaneously, that sinful man might be forced 
to provide for his animal wants according to the 
decree: ^'In the sweat of thy face shalt thou 
eat bread all the days of thy life,'' and thus 
realize his dependence upon his Creator. Since 
then labor, sorrow, suffering and death have been 
the common lot of fallen humanity. Paradise 
is lost; and men, women and children every- 
where, groping their way in moral darkness, 
appear discontented, restless and unhappy. 
They have lost something of great value, and the 
darkness is so dense,without assistance, they will 
never be able to lind it again. 

Cain slew his brother Abel; and ever since 
then, jealousy, revenge and bloodshed have 
been cherished and honored by the children of 
men. Man has shed the blood of his fellows 
and in retaliation was murdered by his fellow- 
man. Many professed servants of the Lord 
have suffered these evil fruits of sin to control 
their actions ; and hence the pages of history are 
blackened vAih the crimes of persecution and 
blood-shed. Even in Christian and civilized 
nations, the stereotyped laws of castes are al- 
most as clearly defined as In heathe Hindoo- 
stan. Persons having the advantages of money 
and culture have but little to do with those who 



6 2 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

are not so biglily favored in these respects. But 
they are willingly ignorant that ''if ye have re- 
spect of persons ye commit sin.'^ 

Many are cursed with riches and over-bur- 
dened with business and cares of this life. They 
oppress the poor, defraud the hireling and ex- 
tortion on their customers; and the increase of 
wealth only makes them more discontented, self- 
ish and unhappy. Some are using dishonest en- 
chantments to win popular favor, that they may 
reach a position of eminence and be honored as 
a hero on the pinnacle of fame. Others are 
oiiJ3:^ striving to gratify their own lust, passions 
and appetites. They glory in concupiscence, 
they eat to gluttony and they drink to drunken- 
ness. Strife and contention have ever been 
common — man against man, woman against 
woman and child against child. There have been 
wars and rumors of wars, Avhich shook the very 
foundations of civil government and destroyed 
mt^jij nations. Grand armies have met in deadly 
conflict on the bloody fields of battle, where 
millions have lost their lives and left widows and 
orphans who were stricken with poverty and 
wretchedness, with but little prospect of ever 
having even the common comforts of life. 
Drinking saloons and houses of ill fame by the 
thousands, which are nurseries of debauchery. 



THE ECCEXTRIC THIXKER. (55 



lust and licentiousness, have largely contributed 
toward the wretchedness and ruin of our fallen 
race. All this, and a million times more, be- 
cause man improperly exercised his freedom and 
brought sin into the world. Do you ask "What 
is man'' in view of all this conglomeration of sor- 
row and wickedness attributed to the children 
of men? 

They are frail, they are discontented, they are 
deceptive, they are unstable, they are thieves, 
they are liars, they are adulterers, they are 
drunkards, they are gamblers, they are murder- 
ers, they are all that is vile, contemptible and 
mean: and they are devils incarnate aud will 
eventually find a home in the dark world of w^oe, 
if they are not, brought back to their origmal 
and natural element — the favor and mercy of 
God. 

But God so LOYED this sinful human race 
^'*that he gave His only begotten son, that who- 
soever believeth in him. should not perish, (eter- 
nally) but have everlasting life.'' "Whosoever- 
WILL, let him take the water of life freel3^'' 
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any 
man hear my voice and (if any man will) open the 
door I will come in to him, and I will sup with 
him and he with me." From these Scripture". 
eld many more) we see clearly that sinful mr i 



U TEE ECCENTPJC THINKER. 

^ 

is Btill ill freedom and dearly beloved by his 
Creator. Of iiis own free will, Adam, b}^ trans- 
gression, severed himself and posterity from his 
Creator — the o jly source of life, light and hap- 
piness. Even so, any sinful human being — who- 
soever 2cin — i]}ay, by forsaking his siiis and be- 
coming obedient, never himself from sin, dark- 
ness and death, and be received again into the 
favor and mercy of God, in our Lord Jesus 
Christ. A Jjattle was fought in the Garden of 
Eden between good and evil, and evil was tem- 
porarily victorious, capturing free man, despoil- 
ing his inheritance and incarcerating him in the 
prison house of death — where the generations 
of men have all been born. The man Christ 
Jesus, clothed with divine power, passed 
through this ])rison, destroying the power of sin 
and death; He chained the jailor and left the 
back door wide open, tliat ''ichosoeverwlIV' may 
have 9A1 everlastiiig, happy life with God and the 
holy angels. 

. In full view of all these things — 
the prisoner — man in his fallen state, 
and his restoration to the divine favor in 
Christ Jesus the Lord — the prophet cries out, 
sa3dng : "As for Thee, also by the blood of Thy 
covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of 
th } pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 65 

Btronghold, ye prisoners of hope; even to-day 
do I declare that I will render double unto thee.^' 
He was standing upon the mountain of inspira- 
tion, beholding the appearance of King Messiah, 
who was bringing sahTct ion for fallen humanity. 
He exhorts the people to rejoice greatly, accept 
this deliverance and be doubly rewarded in the 
world to come. As if he had said: •'! know, 
in Adam, you have lost very much, but if you 
turn to Christ, the strong-hold, it shall be re- 
stored unto you double/^ "As in Adam all die, 
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.*' All 
shall be resurrected and brought into a new life, 
''some to everlasting life, and some to shame and 
everlasting contempt,'' for at the back door of 
death the wicked shall be separated from the 
righteous, "as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats." "And these (the wicked) shall 
go away into everlasting punishment, but the 
righteous into life eternal.'' "As is the earthly, 
such are they also that are earthly." The 
wicked w^ho retain the image of the earthly 
Adam until death "shall go (willingly, it seems, 
as they go to the haunts of vice, in this world) 
into everlasting punishment." ''How art thou 
fallen, O, most mighty!" "Thou has been in 
Eden, the garden of God — thou wast upon the 
holy mountain of God — thou wast perfect In thy 



66 THEECCENTRIC THINKEK. 

ways from the day tliou wast created till ini- 
qnity was found in tliee — thine heart was lifted 
up because of thy beauty. '' Is this H Is it youf 
Will our parents, our children, our relatives or 
any of our friends be with this host who "shall 
go away into everlasting punishment'^? "Except 
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.'' "What 
is man", as we behold him in this horrible 
mirror? He is a lost and ruined soul, world 
without end. 

" But the righteous shall go into life eternal." 
" As is the heavenly, such are they also that are 
heavenly." We have borne the image of the 
earthy, we sha^ll also bear the image of the 
heavenly." " We shall be like Him (Christ) for 
we shall see Him as He is ! " " The Lord Himself 
shall descend from Heaven with- a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump 
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 
then we which are alive and remain shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds ; 
and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Hence- 
forth, a crown of life is lain up for all who love 
the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Oh ! what a blessed privilege, to be a human be- 
ing, endowed with speech, reason, and especial- 
ly with volition — to be aible to reason on the 
the Divine Providence, and speak with our fel- 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



lows of the mercy and goodness of our kind 
Heavenly Father — and that we may, without 
any coercion, freely use our own voUtion — the 
cronwing endowment of our nature — and thus 
place ourselves in the hands of the 
Almighty Savior, who is willing and 
able to save '' to the uttermost all 
who icill come unto Him.'^ Oh! sinful man, 
will 3'ou not return at once to the mercy and fa- 
vor of God, and become a real Christian — a triie 
follower of the meek and lowly Savior? To be 
an heir of God, and joint heir of with our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and realize, and rejoice in the for- 
giveness of sins, by the witnessing influence of 
the Holy Spirit, which God gives unto all 
who sincerely repent, and return to His mercy 
and favor, in Christ Jesus, the Lord — is thrice 
blessed. A child of the Devil, covered with the 
pollutions of sm, taken from the Idngdom of 
darkness, and translated into the kingdom of 
light — the kingdom of God's dear Son. Oh! 
this is wonderful ! A child of God ! An heir of 
Heaven ! This means more than mere humanity. 
'' Behold what manner of love the Father hath 
bestowed upon us; that we should be 
called the children of God.'' The 
real Christian has the peculiar endow- 
ment of the Holy Spirit, working in 



G8 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 



Mm botii to will and to do of God^s good pleas- 
ure. ^' There is tiierefore now no condemnation 
to tiiem which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not 
after the ilep.h, but after the spirt." 

As a Christian, "What is man" now ? He is 
a child of Cod — an heir of Heaven, abiding in 
that ''peace which ]>asseth understanding." 

" Oh ! for such love let rocks and hills 
Their lasting silence break." 

But in this life Christians, perhaps more than 
others, realize that " bonds and afflictions " abide 
with them. Thej are yet clothed with sinful 
mortalityo They are " like sheep among wolves," 
or " pilgrims and stranger " in a foreign country ; 
but by laith they say: '^Our citizenship is in 
Heaven ;" " where the wicked cease from troub- 
ling' and the weary are forever at rest," 

Christ shall come the second time, and receive 
the finally faithful unto himself, ''And they 
shall be mine, sayeth the Lord of hosts, in that 
day when I make up my jewels." At death this 
mortal shall put on immortality, and "death 
shall be swallowed up in victory." °'It doth not 
not yet appear what we shall be, but we shall be 
like Him (the glorilied Jesus) for we shall see 
Him as He /.s" — not in the flesh as He icas^ for 
in that vray, "henceforth know we Him no more'^ 
forever. But the faithful shall be "changed into 



THE ECCEXTRIC THINKER . CO 

the Game image, from glory to glory'' : for God 
hath predestinated such "to be conformed into 
the image of His son'' • who shall change our 
vile body, that it shall be fashioned like unto 
His glorious body.'' Christ, '^being the bright- 
est of His (God's) glor^^ and the express image 
of His person," and we, being like Him, or in 
His image, shall have been therefore restored to 
the image of God. This is Paradise regained, 
and so "shall we ever be with the Lord." The 
giorilied saint in Heaven shall evidently' be like 
God, and present with Him, in a sense trans- 
cendinglv above th::t enioved bv <: r: T .lier 
Adam in the Garden of Eden. The Lori by His 
]>rophet said: "I will resiore uiiio you doable." 
Job. like man, vv as perfect and in the favor of 
God; he was in possession of much riches, but it 
was all wrested from him and he was left, for a 
time, to grope his way in darkness, not even his 
wife proved a true helpmate. But at length his 
eyes were opened and he said: "I knovv^ that my 
Eedeemer liveth, and that He shall stand in the 
latter days upon the earth — yet in my Hesh shall 
I see God" — evidentlj^ referring, at least second- 
arily, to his own restoration to prosperity-. So, 
after severe trial, his property was restored unto 
him double — exactly twice as much of each kind 
as he had before. But shall we conclude that 



70 THE ECCENTRIC THINKEE 

the inheritance of the glorified saints in the 
Heavenly Paradise is only double that enjoyed 
by our foreparents in the earthly Paradise? 
Surely, this is only a general expression and 
but dimly shadows forth the "far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory'' which is promised 
by Him who "is able to do exceeding abundant- 
ly above all that we ask or think.'' "Whereby 
are given unto us exceeding great and precious 
promises, that by these ye might be partalxers of 
the Diyiis^E i^ATUEB, having escaped the 
corruption that is in the world through lust," 
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundant 
mercj^, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, 
iby the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and unde- 
filed and that fadeth not awa3^, reserved in the 
Heaven for you." But "e3^e hath nx)t seen, ear 
hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the 
heart of man the things that God hath in reser- 
vation for the finally faithful ; but the spirit hath 
revealed them unto us." "Now we see through 
a glass darkly, then face to face ; now I know in 
part, but then shall I know even as also I am 
Iciiown." 

But if these exceeding grand and glorious 
promises are only faint foreshadowings of the 



THE ECCENTRIC THINIvER, 



glory and exaltation that shall follow our intro- 
duction in the Heavenly Oaanan, who can even 
conjecture the divine bliss of the eternal posses- 
sion and realization of the inheritance of the 
glorified saints in the Heavenly Jerusalem ! ! ! 
Let us go ! Oh ! let us all go ! ! since whosoever 
icill TUdij freeJij partake of this grand inheritance 
of the saints in glory. 

''There need not one remahi behind 
For Christ hath bidden all mankind." 

Dear reader, even in this world you are 
crowned with the honor of human intelligence, 
and the Lord your God, who is pure and immut- 
able, cannot be reconciled to you in 3^our sinful 
state, but by the proper free exercise of the 
wonderful attributes of your nature, you may be- 
come reconciled to His favor and eventually be 
a partaker of the saints' everlasting rest. Will 
you go? '-Life and death is set before you.'' 
'•Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." God 
so loved you individually, and the whole sinful 
human race collectively, that He disguised 
Himself in humanity, that you might iiot 
be afraid of Him, ("Our God is a con- 
suming fire'') but freel}^ and fearlessl^^ come 
to Him in Christ and be restored 
to His image and favor. "God was, in Christ, 
reconciling the world unto Himself, (not Him' 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



self veeoncUed to the icorJd^ as told in Imman 
creeds ; for that implies a change in God, not in 
man) not imputing their trespasses unto them ; 
and hath committed unto us (the living ministry) 
the word of reconciliajtion/' '^We pray you in 
Christ's stead, be 3^e reconciled to God.'' Oh! 
Avil] ye reject this grace ? You cannot be happy 
without this wonderful gift. Will you accept it? 
Then read the prophet's prayer in the ninth 
cha])ter of Daniel, and say: "Henceforth I 
shall be the Lord's servant." Then, if you are 
faithful to God and true to your trust in this 
vrorki you will eventually be rewarded with 
everlastmg life and a crown of glory. Oh! who 
would not seek a home in the haven of eternal 
repose ! ! When sinful man shall have become 
glorified saints in Heaven, crowned with glory 
and in the full enjoyments of everlasting life^ 
restored to the image of his Creator and dwell- 
ing in His immediate presence, and spending the 
eternal ages in ascribing praise and honor and 
glory and majesty and power unto God the 
Father, and. unto the Lamb for ever arid ever — 
who, then, can answer the question, '^What is 
man," as we see him thus so highly exalted ? 
Let Heaven answer; it is too high for earth. 

David speaks of the heavens in contrast with 
the free creature, man. The celestial bodies, 



THE ECCENTKIC THIXKEK. 



witli all their grandeur and magiiitude, have 
ever been obedient to the divine laws to which 
they were at. first subjected. The material sun, 
the king of day, has never refused to send forth 
its life-giving rays of light and heat throughout 
its whole realm to all wilhng recipients of its 
bounty. The moon and the stars continue to 
shine bv ni^ht and shed forth either their own 
or reflected light, and thus beautify the heavens, 
cheer the benighted traveler on earth, and ex- 
hibit the wisdom and o;]ory of their Creator. 

Notwithstanding man was the climax of ter- 
restrial creation, yet he has proven himself least 
worthy of the trust confided in him. When we 
think of him in contrast v/ith all the regularity 
and grandeur of the heavenly bodies, and then 
with the lov\^er animals, which by instinct are so 
obedient to the laws of their nature, we can 
better a|)preciate the interrogatory exclamation 
of the psalmist, David: ^'What is man, that thou 
art mindful of him; or the son of man, that thou 
visit eth himf ' He was evidently thinking of his 
own dark crimes in connection with the sinful 
fallen state of the whole human race. In view 
of these things, he seemed to be astonished that 
God would take any cognizance of such wilfully 
rebellious creatures. He was doubtless judg- 
ing by himself: knowingthat he would not s])are 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



such rebellious subjects. But in this we behold 
the wondrous love and mercy of the Lord our 
God. Since He has borne with our sins and 
weaknesses, has been long suffering toward us, 
'^has waited long, is waiting still,'^ can any doubt 
His willingness to grant repentance of sins? 
1^0, no, surely with the unspeakable gift — His 
Son — He will freel3" give us all things that ate 
good for us to have. "Xo good thing will He 
withhold from them that walk uprightly.'* '■'If 
we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to 
forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all un- 
righteousness.'' Then, we can here live the life 
of the righteous and get home to Heaven at last, 
where we can realize fulhiess of joy and pleas- 
ures forevermore. 

And when our days and years are passed 

And we from time are gone, 
We'll find our long-lost friends at last 

And reap the harvest sown. 



^'There is one God and one mediator between 
God and men — tlie man Christ Jesus/' — 1 Tim., 
2-0. 

The term mediator implies one who officiates 
between parties at variance, to reconcile the dis- 
agreement by obtaining their mutual consent 
and obligation to a stated covenant. 

Moses was the mediator of the old covenant 
made and entered into at Mount Sinai. He was 
not a substitute for either party, but acted as 
agents for each; and the parties were mutually 
pledged to do certain things. The obvious de- 
sign of this covenant was to remind the people 
of their sins (see Heb., 10-3) and thereby restrain 
them, and also to serve as their protector or 
guard till the mediator of the new covenant 
should make his appearance. A people was thus 
prepared to receive the promised Messiah. We 
are repeatedly told that the law and its ceremo- 



7o THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

nies cannot take away sins nor impart new life. 
This covenant was in force during life in this 
world, and it pertained to the purihcation.of the 
flesh — it was a kind of temporary and prepara- 
tory arrangement "imposed on them until the 
time of reformation.'^ "It was added because of 
transgression'- "to bring us unto Christ that we 
might be justified by faith;' (See Heb., 9-10, 13 
and 14: also Gral., 3-19, 21.) Peace, prosperity 
and long life ay ere promised to the obedient, but 
it could not impart new life to the dead. But 
Jesus came expressly to destroy the devil who 
had the power of death, and thus put an end to 
sin, that we might become partakers of an ever- 
lasting covenant in the world to come. The 
good things shadowed forth b^^ the figures of the 
old covenant have been brought nigh by the 
mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^N'otwith- 
standing the pieculiar privileges of the Jews, 
they, like all others, were compelled to base 
their hopes of future life and blessedness upon 
the promise made in God's covenant with Abra- 
ham. 

Having thus contrasted the old and the new 
covenants, we are better prepared to investigate 
and understand the mediatorial work of our Lord 
Jesus Christ; and having considered both the 
divine and the human attributes in the Essays 



THE ECCE:STRIC THINKEII. 77 

on God and Man, and observed the transgres- 
sion and fall of the latter, we can readily see the 
relation borne to each party, and the position 
occupied by the mediator of the new covenant* 
In this investigation we should not forget 
that men have ever been endowed with volition, 
and that God is not onl^^ love and mercy, but in- 
finitely just and immutable. God being un- 
changeable, could never leave nor forsake His 
creatures ; but man, being in freedom, could and 
did sever himself from his Creator — his only de- 
pendence for a continuance of life and happi- 
ness. Take a fish out of the water — its natural 
element — ' ad dying it soon dies. Immerse a 
bird in vrater, which is net its natural element, 
and it will soon die. Just so, man, bv the exer- 
ciseofhis vohtion, took himjelf out of .God's 
favor, or image — his natural element — and it is 
a natural consequence for him to die, like a 
branch severed from a tree. Xow it is the work 
of the mediator to graft him in again and give 
him a new life without infringing either the di- 
vine or human attributes — the volition of men 
and the justice and immutability of God espe- 
cially. (See Eom., 3-26.) God had said : '^Thou 
shait surely die.'' '*Dust thou art and unto dust 
Shalt thou return." If Christ had been accept- 
as a sacrificial substitute for man, the sinner 



78 THE ECCENTRIC/rfllNKER. 



would have been released from the whole 
penalty of disobedience; for surely infinite jus- 
tice could not see it fall upon both : but even 
then the immutability of God would have been 
destroyed, for He had said : " Thou shalt die,'" 
and if He had accepted an equivalent sacrifice. 
He would have proven Himself changeable. 
But men continue to suffer and die ; and cince 
God is infinitely just and immutable, as well as 
love and mercy, we may therefore conclude that 
the mediator of the new covenant put forth no 
effort, either to mitigate or remove the penalty 
of the original transgression, so far as this w^orld 
is concerned. " God so loved the world,'' there- 
fore. His mediation w^as not to appease the 
wrath of an angry Father, but He came into our 
world and eufi'ered and died, ^Hhat througli 
death He might destroy him that had the power 
of death, that is, the devil," All this was done 
'Hhat whosoever believeth," (still in freedom) 
and would lay hold of the hope set before him, 
might be resurrected to an everlasting life. 

This is strikingly illustrated in the Book of 
Esther. The Jews were cai^tives in a foreign 
land. The laws in that countr3^ could not be 
changed. A decree was made that upon a set 
day all the Jews should be put to death. Queen 
Esther became mediator, and at the risk of her 



TflE ECCENTRIC THINKEH. 79 



life, plead with the King to spare her people. 
The King was willing to grant her request, but 
he could not reverse the decree; but he could 
nmke another, which he did, and accordingly the 
Jews defended themselves, and, as it were, en- 
joyed a new life from the dead. If this is not 
the lesson to be learned here, it would certainly 
be difficult to discover the '^profitable doctrine" 
in this book. Since God '• wills not the death of 
any,-' had it been consistent with the divine and 
human attributes. He certainl3^ would have ar- 
bitrarily pardoned sinful mon, without the igno- 
minious death of his innocent so. , Omnipo- 
tence guided by omniscience c^innor. do unnec- 
essary work, and love and mercy cannot permit 
a useless sacrifice ; therefore w^e may reasonably 
conclude that the incarnation, suffering and 
death of our Lord Jesus Christ was absolutely 
necessaiy for the red^emption of fallen man; and 
since this intelligent creature has ever been en- 
dowed with volition, none but penitent believers 
can be resurrected to everlasting life, notwith- 
standing the price paid for his redemption. 
Without speech, reason and volition, and es- 
pecially the latter, man would have been a brute, 
but certaiuly liot a human being: therefore his 
salvation without the consent of his will, is ob- 
viously an impossibility. 



80 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



But the reader may inquire, ''if Christ was not 
substituted as an equivalent sacrifice for the 
original transgression and the actual sins of all, 
why did he come and suffer at all?-' To under- 
stand this, we must, in connection with what has 
been said, consider man's original position in the 
scale of creation, and observe his willful trans- 
gression and fall to a lower plane. We can then 
see his need of divine assistance, and what the 
mediator wrought for his deliverance. As al- 
xeady explained in the Essay on Man, this intel- 
ligent creature experienced life with both 
Heaven and earth. ISTow all life is from God, 
and so long as the creature remained pure and 
holy, he was conjoined with the Creator, and 
could momentarily receive a new supply. An 
tengine must constantly receive a new supply of 
Bteam power from the boiler, for otherwise it 
will have no x)ower to propel the machinery. 
The electric fluid passes on the wire from one 
office to another, but if the wire is cut the com- 
munication stops. So man by transgression be- 
came separated from the fountain head of life, 
and must die eterally, if this connection is not 
restored. But God, who changes not, had said : 
^'Thouslialt die.'' and return to dust; so there 
w as 110 chance of restoring tills connection un- 
til the seiiteiice of death shall have been execu- 



\ 



THE ECCENTKIC THINKER 81 

ted. Sinful man ran from Lis Creator and was 
afraid of His presence ; therefore God said He 
would raise them up a prophet like unto Moses, 
who would exhibit His love and mercy, rather 
than His omnipotence and immutability, that He 
might by him win them back to His favor. This 
was the man Jesus, the mediator of the new cov- 
enant, who was born into this world, and died out 
of it, that di^inity and humanity might again be 
at-one-ment, and ever remain conjoined in the 
w^ord to come. Jesus was born like other chil- 
dren, evidently because that was the natural or- 
der of getting into this world, and a supernatu- 
ral appearance might have frightened the peo- 
ple, and thus the object of His visit would have 
been defeated. Had he been a descendant of 
Adam, He would have inherited the seed of 
death, and consequently He would have died 
like other men; but being the Son of God, and 
the child of the woman — not of man — he did not 
inherit death, and having done no sin. He could 
never h^ve died naturally ; hence the necessity 
of His death by violence, that He might enter 
into His glory. (See Luke,^24-2G. He was God 
disguised in humanity — at the^same time both 
God and man. He came to seek and to save 
fallen man, and therefore it," behooved Him to 
be made like unto His brethren — a^paitaker of 



THK ECCKXTinC THINKER 



tlesh and blood — tiiat lie might die voluntarily, 
and tlius get properly into tlie empire of death, 
without its sent eiice upon Him, that He might 
impart to all who would Nvillingly come unto 
Him the poAver of a resurrection unto an 
endless life. He fcays : '* Xo man taketh my 
life from me, but i lay it down of myself; I have 
l)Ower to lay it down, aiid I have power to take 
it again/' No son of Adam can say much. 

Now, since life implies conscious presence 
and similar existence, and man by sin has be- 
come dissimilar iioin God, and being so, cannot 
be present with nor receive life from Him, there- 
fore the Divine Being, because of His wonderful 
love for d^ing men, clothed Himself with human- 
ity, which became a mediator (or medium) be- 
tween Him and them, that being similar to them 
in this respect, they might, by this means, be- 
come conscious of His presence, and, being will- 
ing, thus become alive with Him again; and He 
entering the heart, will cast the man of sin out, 
and put His law of liberty in their mind. In 
this way a sinful man Ijecomes a party to the 
new covenan', which was brought about and 
made possible by and tlirough the mediation of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, ilie only Son of the Eter- 
nal God, and our Savior. The Bible does not 
authorize us to Siv, ''God the Son,"' nor, ^'the 



THE ECCEXTRIC THINKER. >?3 



Eternal Son of God/' yeitlier sliould we say 
that God in Christ is reconciled to us, for that 
implies a change in God ; but repeat it like it 
reads: '^ God was in Christ reconciling the 
ivorld unto JiimseJf/' These, and similar absurd- 
ities, have covered the plan of redemption with 
a dark, dense cloud. 

The MAX Jesus is the one mediator. -'Through 
this man is preached unto 3^ou the forgiveness of 
sins." ^' God in these last days has spoken unto 
us by His Son.'' Our Savior was born and lived 
in this Wv^rld, that He might manifest the Crea- 
tor to the creature, and that "the heicvens might 
drop down from above, and the skies pour down 
righteousness." Having done all this, He suf- 
fered and died, that He might get out of this 
world, and properly into the prison-hou:-e of 
death, that being in a similar state with them, 
He might ''preach to the spirits in prison,'* and 
arise from the dead and enter into His glory. 
'' O, fools, and slow of heart to belicA^c all that 
the prophets have spoken ! Ought not Christ 
to have suffered these things, and to enter into 
His glory?'' Si. Paul informs us that these 
things w^ere done that Jesus nught l)e Lord of 
both the living and the dead. The man Jesus 
was the medium through whom, "in these last 
days," God manifested Himself and spake unto 



8t THE ECCENTRIC TniNKER 



tlie world, that men might be persuaded to for- 
£:Lke their sins, and return to Him in Christ, and 
enjoy peace and rest to their souls, under this 
new and everlasting covenant. We need not 
sing : 

'' Jesus paid it all — 
All the debt I owe/' 

And continue in willful sin, hoping to get to 
Heaven at last; but we should believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and ^' Cease to do evil, and 
learn to do tvell/' 

The atonement provided through the media- 
tion of Jesus, and ''by whom we have now re- 
ceived'' it, should certainly not be understood 
in the sense of payment or satisfaction for sin, 
but in the sense of reconciliation or returning to 
God's favor. (See Eom., 5, 10,11: also 2 Cor., 
5, 18-21.) It is a question of getting back to 
God, and from under the dominion of sin. He 
suffered and died because of our sins, which 
brought death, "that He might bring us to God, 
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened 
by the spirit.*' 

The Mosaic covenant pertained to the flesh, 
and the things of this world; but Christ Jesus 
has "condemned sin in the flesh'' — that is, has 
confined its dominion to this world, under cer- 
tain conditions — and has brought about a new 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 85 

coveiiaiit, wliicli ])ertains to the spirit, and eter- 
nal life in the world to come, x Are je so fool- 
ishj having begun in the spirit, are ye now made 
perfect by the flesh ? '' " There is therefore now 
no condemnation to them which are in Christ 
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after 
the spirit.^' Jesus is able to save to the utter- 
most all who will come unto God by or through 
Him. But He is pure and holy, while sin has 
ever been our dwelling place ; therefore we must, 
by true repentance, forsake our sinful home,and 
approach Him by faith, trusting in the promises 
of the new and everlasting covenant. Believing 
in Jesus, we also believe in the Father who sent 
Him; and thus belicAing, new life is imparted — 
for, " Whosoever believeth in Him shall receive 
remission of sins'' — not because He suffered 
and died in our stead, to appease the wrath of 
an Almighty God, but because the sinner is 
greatly beloved, and the Father only waits to be 
willingly received into the heart, that He may 
enter, and cast the strong man of sin out, and 
destroy iiis dominion. ''Behold, I stand at the 
door and knock; if any man hear my voice and 
will open the door,I will come in and sup with him 
and he with Me." The words and works of 
Jesus were recorded, that we might believe th^^ 
He is the Christ, the Son of God; and that I j- 



eO 'i LIE ECCEXTRIC THINKER. 

lieviiig, Ave miglit haye life through His Dame. 

St. Paulinfonns us that Agar and Sarah — the 
concubine and wife of Abraham — with their de- 
scendants, ailegoricalljrepresent these two cov- 
enants. Agar, the bond-maid, stands for Mount 
Sinai, the place where the old covenant was 
sealed; and also for the city of Jerusalem, the 
executive headquarters of the law. She and her 
multitudes of children, who are born after the 
flesh, are still in bondage. But Sarah represents 
the new covenant, and the Heavenly Jerusa- 
lem ; and she being free, is the allegorical mother 
of all the children of God, by faith in Jesus 
Christ. (See Gal., 4, 21-3.) 

As partakers of this heavenly calling, under 
the new covenant, we, like Isaac, are free, and 
the children of promise ] therefore we should not 
act like children of the bond-woman. ^' The law 
of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made 
me free from the lav7 of sin and death.'' There- 
fore the partakers of these heavenly promises 
should reckon themselseves dead indeed unto 
the world and its ''rudiments,'' but alive unto 
God through Christ; with whom they should re- 
main buried into this death, and never arise 
therefrom but there " walk in the spirit," "in i\\Q 
n^vrness of Ufe," that they may " not fulfill the 
Ir 1 \ :3 of the flesh." The Mosaic veil will then be 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER k7 

taken away, and the si)irit of the Lord ^Yiil bring 
them into the hberty of the new covenant; 
where they should " stand fast/* and not become 
^'entangled again with the yoke of bondage." 
Such persons "are not under the la w^ but under 
grace." (See Eom., (3, 14.) For, the law was not 
made for the righteous, '" but for the lawless and 
disobedient.'' 

While Mount Sinai thunders wrath, Mount 
Calvary cries peace and good will to the chil- 
dren of men. The old covenant had reference 
to ''the law of sin and death ; -' but the new has 
reference to ''the law of the spirit of life.'' The 
weakness of the law "through the ilesh," under 
the old covenant, could not prevent suffering 
and death, the penalty of sin : rnt the might '• of 
the spirit of life in Christ Jesus,"' under the new 
can raise the dead to life again. The old cov- 
enant, like fallen men, "is of the earth, earthy:" 
but the new, like its author, the Lord of Glory, 
is heavenly and eternal. 

Soil behooved our mediator '-to be born of a 
woman," and be a partaker of human nature, 
that being ii^ tbe likeness of sinful men, he could 
address their intelligence, through the media of 
sight and hearing, and thereby obtain tlie con- 
sent of their will to forsake sin. and acce])t the 
gift of eternal life in the woiid to come. . Men 



88 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



had become so sensual, that doubtless the heav- 
enl}' lessons could not have been otherwise 
grasped by the human understanding. It be- 
came Him as mediator and captain of our salva- 
tion, to endure the hardships and sufferings of 
human life in this world, that he might con\ince 
sensual man that He was perfect, and therefore 
a merciful, faithful, and suitable High Priest to 
provide, for their reconciliation to the favor of 
God. (See Heb., 2, 14, 17.) His human nature 
further behooved Him, " that He, by the grace 
of God, should taste death for every man '^ — that 
is, destroy Satan's power of death, and provide 
for the resurrection of all, (see Heb., 2-9, 14.) 
and by this means provide eternal redemi)tion 
for those who are called and "receive the prom- 
ise of the eternal inheritance." (See Heb., 9-15.) 
Having suffered all these things, Jesus, our me- 
diator, arose from the dead, and ascended on 
high to the Tabernacle not made with hands, to 
appear in the presence of God as our Great High 
Priest. He was delivered because of our of- 
fences, and raised from the dead, in order to our 
justification to life. (See Eom., 4~2G.) Where- 
fore God has exalted Him above all principality, 
power, and dominion, a.ndhas given Him a name 
superior to any other, and decreed that eyevj 
knee, both in Heaven and earth, shall bow to 



i 



THE ECCENTRIC THIXKER. 89 

Him, and that eyeiy tongue sball confess Him 
Lord,. (JeliOYah)/^ to the glory of God the 
Father.'' 

"All hail the power of Jesus' name ! 

Let an| els prostrate fall ; 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 

And crown Him LORD OF ALL." 



s-^x-."V"-^TioiNr. 

There are no fe^ye^ than live kinds of Salva- 
yations spoken of in tlie Bible. Temporal Sal- 
vation lias frequently been wrought b,y the Lord 
for peculiar individuals and nations. David was 
delivered from death several times hj the espe- 
cial care of Providence. The Lord delivered 
Goliath into his power and so his own life was 
spared. The lions were not permitted to hurt 
Daniel, nor the fire to scorch the Hebrew chil- 
dren. Both Elijah and Elisha were divinely 
protected. The twelve apostles were released 
from prison by an angel, and Peter alone made a 
similar escape, while Paul and Silas, at the houf 
of midnight, received an angelic visit, and their 
chains fell off and they were soon released. 

God has frequently wrought especial deliver- 
ance for armies and nations, as well as individ- 
uals. "The Most Highrulethin the kingdoms 
of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will."' 
''He doeth according to His will in the army of 



THEECCENTRIC THINKER. . 91 



Heaven/' The Lord was the constant protect- 
or of the Israelites. He delivered them from 
Egyptian bondage. The Lord sent His angel to 
destroy the Assj'rian army, who were besieging 
Jerusalem, when good Hezeldah was king, and 
so he and his people were delivered out of their 
l)Ower. 

Since God is the same, ''yesterday, to-day and 
forever,'' we may be sure that His especial bles- 
sings will ever be bestowed upon the pious and 
faithful. The doctrines of especial Providences 
should cheer every "way-worn traveler.- ■ 

But there is another Salvation spoken of, 
which is general in its a])])lication. Man, by 
transgression, fell from the holy estate in which 
he was created : and God has v/rought a wonder- 
ful deliverance for them in the scheme of Salva- 
tion. While it is said ''Thou shalt die,^' it is not 
written that he shall never be made alive again: 
therefore his deliverance from the bondage of 
sin and death is possible. Jlen must suffer and 
die, but he may be brought to life again. ''God 
so loved the world-' tlmt He has provided a way 
for mrai's redemption "by the offering u]) of His 
Son, once for all.'- Sin carries all men into the 
regions of death, but tliroRgii the mediation of 
Jesus, all shall be made alive. Justice and im- 
mutabilitv demand the formei- — ^love and inercv 



92 . THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



liave called forth the latter. Prophets became 
students of their own writings concerning this 
great Salvation and the angels attempted to pry 
into its mysteries ; but it was reserved for the 
gospel dispensation to unfold this wondrous 
plan. St. Paul, in speaking, of the Salvation of 
the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, says : "By 
grace are ye saved'' — that is, God, of His own 
free will and mercy, without consulting human 
agency or asking man's co-operation in any re- 
spect whatsoever, did i)rovide this redemption 
for fallen men, and therefore the resurrection of 
all is a certainty, and eternal hapniness is 
within the reach of human agency. This whole 
plan was evidently devised before Adam was 
created; therefore it was impossible for man 
either to merit or ask for this great blessing. 
Then it was wholly of God's mercy and there- 
fore by grace. Anything gratuitously bestowed 
is of grace, but if it is asked for, bought or mer- 
ited in any way it is certainly not of grace. 
Therefore this is the onl^^ Salvation spoken of in 
the Bible that can be properly by grace. ''All 
have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 
(all) being justified /V<?e/^ by His grace, through 
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." So 
God's righteousness b3^ faith in Jesus Christ is 
manifested to all mePi. (See Eom., 3-23, 24). His 



THE ECCENTPJG THINKER. 



grace that doth bring Salvation to all hath in 
these last days appeared. (See Titus, 2-11.) The 
earth Avith all its furniture and decorations were 
prepared for the service and glory of man before 
he was created, and of course he could not have 
merited them, asked for them nor even desired 
them; therefore it was by grace that he inherited 
all these things. As our spiritual eternal well- 
being was similarly provided for in the atone- 
ment made by our Lord Jesus Christ for the re- 
conciliation of fallen men, we may therefore 
conclude that the justification or Salvation 
which is by grace invariably has reference to 
this and nothing more. By reference to those 
texts in Scriptm^es where the adjunct ^'by grace'- 
is used, no one need be in doubt on this sub- 
ject; and therefore it is hoped that the sectarian 
logomachy about being saved by grace will some 
day cease. 

So we see that the grace of God has provid- 
ed a resurrection for all and that a new, happy, 
eternal lite is brought within the reach of hu- 
man agency. ^'He will have mercy on whom 
He will haA^e mercy''; but we are plainly told re- 
peatedly that He wills to have mercy upon ivho- 
soever ivUl repent and believe on the Lord 
JesuB Christ. Grace has provided Salvation for 
all. but we shall soon see that the attaiiiina" tt) 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



tills grac'e — tlie pardon of sins, couversiou or 
justiticatioii — is euspeuded on tlie condition of 
faitii in God tlirough Christ, preceded by true 
repentance. Human agency being consulted, 
and liiaiv^ co-operation tluis required, this Sal- 
vation is not by grace, but as we ho])e to show 
])lain]y to be by faith. 

AVe may reasonably conclude that the church- 
es written to by St. Paul were coni])osed of both 
Jewish and Gentile converts, and frorii the ar- 
guments advanced by the a])ostle it seems evi- 
dent that thei'e vrere contentions betvv^een them. 
The Jews, who had hitherto been the ])eculiar 
people of God, were evidently unwilling for the 
Gentiles to remain in the church with them. 
Tiiey seemed TO think that they bad an exclu- 
sive right to all of God's blessings. But in the 
Epistle to the Eomans they are reminded that 
by breaking the law they had even forfeited 
their right to all its ])lessings — and further, that 
the Gospel was not by the law, but by grace. 
'•It is not of him that willeth, nor of him tliat 
runneth, but of God that showeth riicr(*y.'' 
As if he had said: "-You Jews need not be 
making a great ado about how and upon whom 
the blessings of the Gos])e' shall be bestowed. 
You may will and strive in vain to have it your 
way. but the Gospel sIimU be given to all man- 



I 



THE ECCEXiRIC THINKER. 95' 



kind according to the will of God, in fultillment 
of the promise made to Abraham'^ — "In thy seed 
shall ALL the nations of the earth be blessed." 
Having established the fact that the Gospel was 
not by the law but by grace, the apostle pro- 
ceeds to show that the benefits of this grace 
could only be reached by faith. He says : 
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified 
by faith without the deeds of the law-', and con- 
sequently the Gentile has as much riglit to 
claim the pardon of sins and membership in the 
Christian church as the boasting Jew. >T cither 
of them has any righteousness of hiis own, and 
alike they are dependent upon the rigiitoousness 
of God, whicli is b}' faith in Jesus Christ. Each 
must heartily and sorrowfully repent of all his 
actual sins, regret his fallen condition and return 
to God by faith — and as Christ is the only way 
it must be through Him. 

In the fourth chapter of Eomans the apostle 
argues justificatioD by faith as a natural and 
necessary sequence of Salvation by grace. He 
says : -'Therefore it is of faith that it might be 
by grace, to the end the promise might be sure 
to all tlie se^d.'' This ])romise vras made to 
Abraham and all who should become iiio cliil- 
dren by faith and accept the promises and be 
obedient to God's commandments, as he was. 
(See Gal., 3-7.) 



96 . THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



In the lifth chapter the apostle proceeds to 
draw his conchisioiis from the premises already 
laid down: "Therefore being justified by faith 
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ.'' We leave our sinful dwelhng place hj 
true repentance and return to God by faith in 
Christ and enjoy the peace of reconciliation. 
Surely the apostle here teaches that the pardon 
of siii is offered on the condition of faith. (See 
also Gal., 2-16.) The same apostle elsewhere 
*8ays : ''Through this man — Jesus — ^is preached 
unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all 
that Relieve are justified'', etc. (Acts, 13-38, 39.) 
He ''pursuaded themto col^/m^/(3in the grace of 
God." (43d verse.) This was at Antioch, in 
Pisidia— not the Antioch where the disciples 
were first called Christians. This was evidently 
St. Paul's first visit there; and as these people 
had never heard the Gospel before, surely the 
preacher would tell them exactly hovv^ to get rid 
of their sins — but not a word about baptism nor 
going to a human priest— but simply ''through 
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of 
sin, and by him all that helieve are justified." 
They certainly accepted the Gospel* as offered, 
or they would not have been ''pursuaded to con- 
tinue in the grace of God." 

§t, Peter, being sent by an angel to Cornelius 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



and. his householcl to tell tbein how to be saved, 
said. : "To Him (Christ) give all the prophets 
witness that through His name whosoever 

BELIEVETHIN HiM SHALL RECEIVE REMISSION 

OF SINS." God put no difference between the 
Jews and Gentiles, ''purifying their hearts by 
faith." (See Acts, 10-43 and 15-9.) The jailor 
said to Paul and Silas: "Sirs, what must I do 
to be saved?" They answered him, saying: 
^^Beliere on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou 
shalt be saved." 

It is quite evident that, not only the pardon 
of sins, but every individual blessing is suspend- 
ed on the condition of faith. The leper said to 
Jesus : "If Thou wilt. Thou canst make me 
clean." Jesus replied : "I will, (it) be thou clean." 
Jesus touched the eyes of twc blind men, say- 
ing: "According to your faith be it unto you," 
and immediately their eyes were opened. A 
certain woman said : "If I may but touch the 
hem of His garment, I shall be whole." She 
touched it, and was immediately cured: but 
when Jesus found her out, he said to her: "Thy 
faith hath made thee whole." Surely the only con- 
dition was faith in the man in whom the God- 
head dwelt. Oh! that eveiy one would repent 
of his sins, and believe the truth as it is in 
Jesus ! Eeader, are you ashamed of your sin- 



98 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



fill life? Do yon heartily and sorrowfully re- 
pent of every sin yon have ever committed? 
Wonld yon be set free? ''Wilt thon be made 
whole^'? Do 3^on believe — that is, are yon qnite 
snre — ^that "God was in Christ reconciling the 
AYOiid nnto Himself?^' Will yon accept Him as 
yonr God and Jesns as yonr Savior? Are yon 
determined by the grace of God to "cease to do 
evil and learn to do well?'^ Then yon have a 
right to claim justification from sin, and the 
peace of reconciliation with God throngh onr 
Lord Jesns Cbrist. 

In Eomans (8-24) St. Paul says: "We are 
saved by hope.'' Now, from what has already 
been said, it is qnite evident that the Salvation 
here spoken of can neither have reference to the 
atonement nor justification from sin — the former 
we have found to be by grace and the latter by 
faith — but this is declared to be by hope. By 
examining the context we shall find that the 
apostle is here speaking of the glorification of 
the bod^'. Hope implies both desire and ex- 
pectation, and as Christians we both desire and 
expect our vile bodies to be changed and fash- 
ioned like nnto the glorified body of our Lord. 
In tliic; life bonds and affliction, disease and 
death, is the common lot of all; but the Chris- 
tian joyfully anticipates the day Vv^hen death 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER, CS 



sliall be swallowed up of life and these mortal 
bodies sliall have put on immortality. St. Paul 
says : "If in this life only we have hope in 
Christ, we are of all men most miserable.'' But 
we believe that Christ has risen from the dead, 
and though our vile bodies i)erish, yet we desire 
and expect glorified bodies like our Lord's ; and 
it is this hope that sustains and saves us from 
despair during the trials and sufferings of this 
life. The Christian is a pilgrim and a stranger, 
having no inheritance in this world save the 
promises and blessed anticipation of a glorious 
citizenship in Heaven. Every one may spirit- 
ually adopt the language of the poet : 

^'Nothing- on earth I <?all my own 
A stranger to the world unknown ; 

I all their goods despise. 
I trample on their whole delight, 
And seek a city out of sight, 

A city in the skies." 

The apostle suggests that the sufferings of 
this world are unworth3^ of being compared with 
our glorious citizenship in Heaven, since the 
body — "the creature'' — will then be delivered 
from the bondage of corruption and be elevated 
to the glorious liberty of the children of God, 
Oh! blessed hope! thou that cheereth andkeep- 
eth us safe, while traveling here below — how 
could we live without thee ! Oh ! thou spirit of 



100 THE ECCENTRIC THICKER. 



tlie jiviiig God, that iiispiretli us with ho])e of a 
blessed immortahty ! reign thou in our hearts and 
keep us from the poAver of adversity that we 
may stand fast to the end of Ufe. 

But the eternal Salvation of both soul and 
body in the world to come, which was provided 
by grace, and is attained to by faith and clung to 
b^^ hope, is the greatest of all. It is the end and 
object of all our hope, faith and Chrictian per- 
severance. If there be no reward in the next 
world, then Christianity is a delusion, a cheat 
and a failure, and all the sacrifices made by its 
devotees axe in vain. 

But we are pursuaded that a better day is 
coming ; therefore we both labor and suffer re- 
proach that we may be thought worthy of 
a resurrection unto everlasting life. The Phil- 
lippians had heard of the Salvation by grace and 
had evidently attained to it by faith when the3^ 
were exhorted to work out their Salvation ; 
wherefore we may be very sure that this Salva- 
tion is not only different from those, but that it 
was still in the future and the grand object of all 
the rest. Their sins had certainly been pardoned, 
and they were then in the full enjo^^ment of the 
peace of reconciliation with God. There were 
no charges against them, for the apostle says: 
''As ye have always obeyed; not asinmypres- 



THE ECCENTKIC THINKER. 101 

eiice only, but now much more in my absence, 
icorl: out your own Salvation with fear and tremb-. 
ling, for it is God which worketh in you, both lb 
will and to do of His good pleasure.'' (See 
Phil., 2-^12, 13.) The exhortation to work seems 
to imply that it was essential to their continuance 
in the grace of God. Only tliose who hold the 
beginning of their confidence and the rejoicing 
of hope steadfast unto the end shall be made 
partakers of Christ, in the tabernacle not made 
with hands. (See Heb., 3-6, 14.) How shall we 
escape if we neglect so great Salvation; plainly 
imi)lies that there is great danger; therefore let 
us watch and be sober. Let us not sleep to our 
eternal interest, but constantly work in the 
Lord's vineyard as best we can, trusting the 
guidance of the Spirit working in us both to will 
and to do of His good pleasure. So we see 
human agency is still respected and the Chris- 
tian's eternal Salvation is suspended on the 
condition of continued faithfulness till death, 
exhibited by works of obedience. In this way, 
Abraham was justified by works when he of- 
fered his son, Isaac — that is, bv this act of obe- 
dience he proved himself still just and true to 
the service of God. He had been justified by 
faith long before, and it was imputed to him fr^^ 
righteousness. He certainly had the power to 



102 THE ECCENTRIC THINKEli. 



refuse this obedience, but had he done so he 
would no longer have been the father of the 
faithful. Eahab, the harlot, was justihed by 
works — that is, she proved herself true to the 
messengers of Israel, and therefore her life was 
spared. Unquestionably, her justification has 
no reference to the pardon of her sins nor to her 
safe arrival in Heaven at last. Christians are 
exhorted to work, watch, pray and labor to enter 
into their final rest, being assured that all who 
sin wilfully and thus depart from the living God 
will be rejected, cursed and burned like the 
thorns and briars. (See Heb., 6-7, 8; 10-26.) A 
state of "fearful looking for of judgment and 
fiery indigna^tion" will ensue, and it seems that 
the punishment due those who do '^despite to 
the spirit of grace'' cannot be estimated. — Heb., 
10-27, 28. The Christian who falls in love with 
himself, orthiG rinful world, subjects himself to 
this punishment. (See 2 Tim., 4-10 and also 1 
John 2-15, 10.) Those vrho receive the Gospel 
into a heart M]read3^ surcharged with cares, 
riches a.nd pleasures of this life, caif bring forth 
no fruit to perfection and reap life everlastiilg 
unless these things are cast out and constantly 
avoided. Christians shall be sorely alEicted 
an 1 tried in this world, and manj^ shall become 
offended and betray and hate one another and 



THE ECCE^^TRIC THINKER. ]0:j 

iiuquity shall abound and the love of many wax 
cold, ''but he that shall endure to the end the 
same shall be saved.*' (Matt., 24-8, 13.) This 
Scripture is certainly most fearfully fulfilled in 
Our day. Doubtless the mixing up of the differ- 
erent kinds of Salvation spoken of in the 
Bible, and sectarian logomachy, (wrangling ar- 
guments—war in Heaven — ) is one grand cause 
of the sad decline, witnessed and deplored in 
the church of our day. 

The angels Avhich sinned and kept not their 
first estate have been cast down to hell, and 
reserved in chains of darkness unto the judg- 
ment of the great day; then v\dll any dare think 
or argue that human agency ceases when a per- 
son becomes a Christian, an 1 that there is no 
danger of falling away and losing the eternal 
inheritance at last? Adam was certainly in a 
safer condition than we are now, yet he sinned 
and fell from his state of holiness. King Saul 
was once endowed with the spirit of prophecy, 
but he sinned and became disobedient and down 
he went. The hoy Solomon would ''work with 
God," and was happy in the partnership ; but 
the man Solomon became disobedient, nnd would 
Avork ivithoift God, therefore he was discontent- 
ed and wretched. Ezekiel informs us that when 
a righteous man turns from his righteousness 



104 THE ECCENRRIC THINKER 



aiKl commits iniquity, lie shall die. (3-20.) The 
Jews were broken off from the good olive tree^ 
because of their unbelieving disobedience, and 
we are plainly taught in many texts of Scripture 
that the Christian stands upon his continues 
faithful obedience. Hence the Savior says: 
''Abide in Me''; ''So shall ye bear much ^fruit''; 
''If My word abide in you'', which plainly im- 
plies, not onl3^ that the disciple has the power by 
willing disobedience to take himself out of Christ, 
but also that there is danger of his so doing. If 
every one coming to Christ is unconditionally 
kept, surely the exhortation to abide in Him is 
unnecessary. Therefore let every one take heed 
lest he fall from his steadfastness, and thus be- 
come separated from God in Christ and wither 
and die, like a branch separated from its parent 
vine. Labor, watch, pray and persevere to the 
end of life, that communion with God through 
Christ may be kept up and spiritual strength 
daily renewed from the fountain-head. This can 
be done by studying the Word of God, by pri- 
vate devotion and public worship ; by manifest- 
ing love and sympathy to the poor and wretched 
and especially to the household of faith, by 
shunning all known evil and going about doing 
good and hj child-like simplicity and per- 
petual obedience, thus^ worl' out your 



THE ECCENTRIC THIXKER. ]05 

eternal salvation " with fear and trem- 
bling'' — not in your own Btrength, nor in 
the sense of merit; for when we have done all 
we can we are still ''unprofitable servants,'' but 
in this great work "we are laborers together 
with God"; for, while we thus work, God's Holy 
Spirit works in us ''both to will and to do of His 
good pleasure." We are divinely assured that 
such work and labor of love is not forgotten 
by our Heavenly Father and it is certainly of 
great importance, since we are exhorted "to 
abound alw^ays in the work of the Lord." 

"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 
reap." Is not a sinner free and at liberty to sow 
to the Hesh or to the spirit as he pleases? When 
he becomes a Christian is he not still free? and if 
he does not abound in the work of the Lord is 
there not danger of his being enticed by the devil 
to spend his spare time from the Lord's work in 
sowing to the flesh! and since "a little leaven 
leavens the whole lump," is there not a fearfully 
great probability that he will soon discontinue 
the Lord's work and busy himself wholly with the 
flesh and the aflfairs of this Avorld and finally reap 
an abundant harvest of corruption, darkness 
and death? Have we not the best of reasons for 
fearing that thousands are annually waxing cold 
and falling into this device of the devil? Many 



106 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

warning voices have been raised at tliis point, 
but nevertheless the heedless Christian soldier 
still falls a victim to this snare of the adversary. 
The devil readily employs every idler in the 
Lord's vineyard; and he is represented as going 
about seeking such, that he may finally devour 
them. Hence it appears that eveiy Christian 
who ceases to abound in the work of the Lord 
moves his membership to Ephesus, and the Lord 
has at least one charge against him — he has left 
his first love, has fallen, and must repent and do 
his first work or his light will be removed and 
darkness and death Avill of course be the result. 
Ifhe will not verpeiii^^nd thus retain his candle- 
stick, you may expect soon to find him a mem- 
ber in bad standing of the church at Laodicia. 
Then, being neither cold nor hot, the Lord will 
spew him out of his mouth. Do not follow the ex- 
ample of Esau and sell your eternal birth-right 
for fleshy gratifications nor worldly pleasure ; but 
mortif^^the flesh and subdue all worldly desires, 
that the love of the Father may dwell in you and 
keep you from passing away with the world. 
(See 1 John, 2-15, 17.) 

St. Paul found it necessary for him to work, 
preach and keep a constant watch over himself, 
lest he should finally be a castaway. If all this 
was necessary to make his peace, calling and 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 101 



election sure — that he migiit be thought worthy 
of eternal life — how shall we escape if we neglect 
to ivorlt out our eternal Salvation with fear and 
trembling? The Christian soldier should have 
on the whole panoply of God and faithfully tight 
the Lord's battles, contending with principali- 
ties and powers in high places. 

Love to God and our fellows must be embod- 
ied in life, for Ohristianity is not a creed to be 
subscribed to, but a life to be lived — a life of 
self-denial and obedience. We, like our faithful 
Father Abraham, are justified by works, when 
we prove our obedience by ceasing to do evil 
and learning to do well — by keeping every 
known commandment and trusting the Spirit 
working in us to open our understanding of the 
Scriptures, that other duties may be revealed. 
We can prove our love to our fellows by kind 
words and charitable deeds, remembering that it 
is not by our baptism nor church creed that we 
are to be known as disciples of Jesus, but by 
our love to one another. ^^Love is the fulfilling 
of the lavv\'' Knowing this, it is high time to 
awake out of rleep, since ^'our Salvation is near- 
er than when we first believed''; therefore let us 
quit the works of darkne:is and engage in the 
works of light and liberty. (See Eom., 13-10, 
12.) Since so manv witneses h?:ve testified to 



108 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



God^s feitlif Illness, let us lay aside every Aveighty 
besetting sin, let us be wonderfully in earnest, 
and by prayers and supplication, work- 
ing and waiting, run the Cliristian race 
with, mucli patience and long-suffering, that 
ice may be thought worthy of that eternal 
life promised to the faithful. These things are 
evidently necessary (see 1 Peter, 1-7, 9) for the 
trial of our faith, which is more precious than 
goldtriedin the fire, that we may be prepared 
for the praise, honor and glory of Jesus at His 
appearing; from whom we shall then receive the 
end of our faith, even the Eternal Salvation of 
our souls and enter into that ''joy unspeakable 
and full of glory.'' 

From all that has been said, we conclude : 

First — That Salvation is of this world. God 
has, in all ages, rescued His chosen and devout 
servants from their enemies and death. 

Second — The Salvation which is by grace has 
reference only to the atonement made by our 
Lord Jesus Christ because of the sin of the 
world, and in order to the resurrection unto life. 

Third — That Salvation from the dominion of 
gin — or justification — is suspended on the con- 
dition of faith in God through Christ, preceded 
by repentance. 

Fourth — That the Salvation which is by hope 



t 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 109 

refers to the redemption of our bodies from cor- 
ruption. 

:* Fifth — That the Salvation which is to be 
worked^out has-direct reference to the deliver- 
ance^from sin and its consequences, and all that 
iTwoiidly, and being^saved eternally in Heaven. 
"And won't that be joyful''? 



^^FoT tlie bed is shorter tliaii that a inaii can 
Btretch himself on it; and the covering narrower 
than that he can wrap himself in it.'' — Isaiah, 
28-20. 

This entire chapter is highly figurative. The 
whole nation of Israel was in a back-slidden 
state'. They were mentally drunk or infatuated 
with error, idolatry and wickedness^ — ''they err 
in vision and they stumble in judgment." The 
Lord had taught them, and then taught them 
again the same lesson ; but still they must be 
nourished with the food of infants, for none of 
them was prepared to learn knowledge nor un- 
derstand doctrine. Many of them had doubtless 
become skeptical, not knowing nor caring much 
about God, nor the appearance of the promised 
Messiah. Their covenant with death and hell 
being a Mlure, the Lord promised a sure foun- 
dation for their faith that would insure them rest 
and peace in the hour of death. The language 
of the text was uttered as a kind of reason why 
they needed a foundation to build ui)on for eter- 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 111 

iiity. The text should not be understood liter- 
ally, for surely no man is so foolish as to make 
a bed shorter than his body, nor any Avoman who 
would make covering only half as wide as the 
bed; in worldly matters people are too wise for 
such mistakes to occur. If the text is to be 
understood figuratively, the bed and covering 
must represent something in spiritual life or re- 
ligion. 

Xow, a bed is made to rest on during the 
night, and the covering to keep the body com- 
fortable. In many jdaces in the Bible we find 
night used as a representative of death. That 
we maybe daily reminded of our emigration to 
the spiritual world is probably why our bodies 
require sleep. Our Creator certainly meant to 
teach us something by this necessity of our 
bodies. As we lie down to sleep and rest dur- 
ing the night, so we must some day lie down in 
death, to awake in the great day of eternity.. 
]S^ow, as night represents death^ the bed and 
covering must refer to that upon which we rely- 
forrest and comfort in the hour of death. This.^ 
unquestionably, is one's faith or religion, wheth-< 
er it be pure or impure, or whether it eminate^ 
from true piety or infidelity. The Lord inti- 
mates that no bed Avill be long enough for ease 
nor sure enough as a foundation upon which to 



112 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

build hopes of dying peace and future bliss, ex- 
cept the Lord Jesus Christ, the elect, precious, 
well triexi corner stone. The covering evident- 
ly represents the life with which one's faith is 
clothed, or by which it is exhibited to others. 
The Lord further intimates that no wicked nor 
self-righteous life will be able to cover the soul 
comfortably nor screen it from infinite justice in 
the hour of death and the day of eternal retri- 
bution. 

This is certainly a very strong and impressive 
figure and should make a lasting and profitable 
impression upon the minds of all who read and 
understand it. The Jews were very young chil- 
dren in spiritual knowledge and doctrine, and 
hence these heavenly truths were veiled in fig- 
ures and symbols, that they might at least catch 
a glimpse of the realties of the future. For 
eternal things had not then been brought to 
light, as we now see them in the Cxojpel mirror. 

In this text we are taught that ''Jesus Christ 
is the only hope for a lost and ruined world'' — 
that true faith in Him is the only bed that is 
long enough, short enough, wide enough, high 
enough and suitable in every respect to afford 
peace and rest when we come to die : and furth- 
er, we are here informed that His righteous- 
ness is the only certain dependence for com- 



THE ECCENTRIC TITINKEE. 113 

fort and liappiness at death and in eternit^^ 
Universalists may rely upon the faith and 
hope that all will eventually be unconditionally 
saved; but their bed is evidently too short, since 
it does not reach all the way from human voli- 
tion to Christ ; and since their faith is not a 
great incentive to a life of piety, it is evident 
that their life as a covering* will be too thin as 
well as too narrow for them when the night of 
death approaches. Many rely upon external 
religion and formal worship. Some depend up- 
on their baptism or belonging to a certain sec- 
tarian church. Others rely upon common hon- 
esty and worldly charity, and some upon being 
individually elected and called from alleteriuty. 
Some feel sure of a long life, and relying wholly 
upon the mercy of God at last, they "sow wild 
oats,'' and indulge freely in all kinds of sinful 
pleasures. Some believe in God, but reject the 
Lord Jesus and divine revelation, saying: 
"My Creator brought me into this world with- 
out my consent and will carry me out at His own 
pleasure,'' and so they contend that the greatest 
good is to make the best of tfiis life. They, with 
many of other classes, say: ^'Let us both by 
Avords and actions, eat and drink, for to-morrow 
we die." Some would ])ersuade themselves and 
others that there is no God, no Heaven, no hel], 



114 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



no hereafter — iiothiiig to do but to gratify the 
passions and appetites of self in this life. But 
very feAV, if any, of this class have ever lain down 
contentedly upon this bed "to sleep the sleep of 
death." 

But if this little preacher understands the 
twenty-eighth chapter of Isaiah, and especially 
the text under consideration, then surely all the 
classes above mentioned are making short beds 
and narrow covering for death and eternity. For 
just as sure as there is a God, a Heaven and a 
hell,and the Bible is a divine revelation, so surely 
no person can safely rely for comfort, peace and 
hapx)iness in this world, at death or in eternity^ 
save by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and 
being clothed with His righteousness ; and this 
faith and righteousness can only be exhibited, 
proven and made sure by a hearty repentance, a 
life of piety and faithfulness until death. 

"Eepent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at 
hand." ''Except ye repent ye shall all likewise 
perish." ''Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and 
thou Shalt be saved." "Whosoever believeth in 
Him shall receive remission of sins." "I will 
give unto every one of you according to your 
works." "Be thou failtiful unto death and I will 
give thee a crown of life."^ '^These (the wicked) 
shall go away into everlasting x)unishment ; but 
the righteous into life eternal." 

WHEEE WILL YOU 8PEXD ETEENITY? 



THE BUM OF THE GOSPEL. 

^^Thisistlie work of God, that ye believe on 
Him whom He hath sent.'' — John, 6-29. 

Of the the way of holiness, it is written : ^' The 
wa^^faring meij, though fools, shall not err there- 
in.'' However, on the minor points of theology 
and religion there is a great diversity of opinion. 
To love God supremely and the neighbor as 
one's self is the fulfillment of the whole law. 
But it appears that our text is the sum of the 
Gospel of Christ. He who properly loves God 
and his neighbor observes at least the spirit of 
the whole law; even so, he who properly be- 
lieves in the Lord Jesus grasps at once all of 
theology and all of religion. Here we see the 
plain, positive and imperative duty of every in- 
dividual; and he who reads may understand. It 
is true that there are many things in the Bible 
which are hard to be understood, but the most 
simple need not mistake the true meaning of this 
text. 



11 G THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



Perhaps a more important question never 
was asked than the one propounded in the verse 
preceding our text, and it could not have been 
asked a more appropriate person than the 
world^s Eedeemer. Jesus had, the previous 
day, preached to a large multitude of people by 
the seaside, and He had miraculously fed the 
whole multitude with live loaves of bread and 
two small fishes. At the request of Jesus the 
disciples took ship to cross over the sea, but 
Jesus repaired to a mountain to pray. During 
the night lie went to them, walking on the water, 
and they all landed together. Next day some 
of the people who had satisfied their appetites 
at our Lord's miraculous feast came over seek- 
ing for Jesus. But He gave them to under- 
stand that He knew they cared nothing for His 
miracles and divine mission, but only wanted to 
satiate their appetites with perishable food. He 
intimated that His instruction was Heavenly 
food and would prepare their souls for life ever- 
lasting. No doubt many in cur day are making- 
a similar mistake, only now they are seeking for 
intellectual feasts. Thousands are going to church 
just to hear preaching, not to worship, and, like 
these Jews, they persuade themselves that they 
are doing the work of God. Wealth 3^ congrega- 
tions pay large sums for intellectual preachers, 



THE ECCENTRIC TRINKER. 117 



that they may have a feast aU the year rouiul. 
If they do this oiily^for intellectual gTatificatioii, 
they certainly are not worshipping God nor do- 
ing His work, for "God is a spirit and seeketh'' 
si)iritiial and true worshippers. 

These Jews, feeling the Lord's rebuke and 
desiring to feign tliemsel ves sincere seekers after 
the truth, said to Jesus: "What shall we do 
that we might work the works of God?'' As if 
they had said: "We have left our secular affairs 
and come here to see your miracles and hear 
your instruction ; and if we are not right in this, 
how can we do the work of Godf ^ Jesus knew 
all this was fleshh^, external and formal, but He 
would get into their hearts that He might do 
them real and lasting good ; he would have them 
to believe on Him, forsake all and become His 
true disciples, that they might have life ever- 
lasting. However, He did not answer their 
question and tell them hoiv they could do God's 
work, but He addressed them as adult freemen 
— not as servants nor brutes — and told them in 
the language of the text what the work .of God 
is, and left them do this Avork freely, or not do it, 
as they pleased. "This is the work of God, that 
ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." God 
wills that everv one who sees the Son and ]^"- 
lieves on Him shall have everlasting life ; for I 



118 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



lias promised to raise sucliaiid bring tliem into 
this rich and glorious inheritance at the last day. 
Then this faith in Christ* implies and compre- 
hends every Christian duty from repentance to 
glorification. Theology and religion as thus ex- 
pressed is both laconic and simple, but at the 
same time it is comprehensive and unfathom- 
able. Wayfaring men may in simplicity accept 
Christ and rejoice in the peace of reconciliation 
with God ; but men noted for learning and piety 
may spend a long life studying this ''little Bible'' 
and continually find new beauties and more ex- 
cellent knowledge. 

A xierson may feel very sure that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God, but if the heart (or will) 
is not put into this faith, it will remain lifeless 
and he will continue in love with sin, the world 
and himself, and will not repent of his sins and 
return to God. Another may not understand 
what is meant by the declaration that Jesus is 
the Son of God, yet if he accept this testimony 
to the best of his understanding, wills to do 
right, is anxious to get to Heaven and will 
repent of his sins, he may enter into the joy 
of faith, even though his knowledge of theology 
and his religious experience may never be ex- 
pressed more elegantly than the poor hucksters : 

'•I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, 
But Jesus Christ is my all in all,'' 



THE ECCKXTRIC THINKER. 119 

But intellectual faith will not enable us ''to 
work the work of God,'' but when it is quick- 
ened into life b^^ a broken heart — a submissive, 
obedient will, and the whole being is filled with 
anxiety, sincerity and truth — then this religious 
credulity, or faith, enables the individual to en- 
ter through the veil of Christ's humanity into 
the ''Holy of Holies," "by this new and living- 
way." 'Taith comes by hearing," but through- 
out Christendom Christ is heard of through the 
Bible and the living ministry. Men hear and 
hear again ; they weigh His instructive words 
and duly consider His miracles, and become 
convinced tliat Jesus is the Christ. They ob- 
serve the influence that Christ exerts over indi- 
viduals and nations and are <^::vctr^<:Z that Jesus is 
the Savior of the world ; but right here thous- 
ands stop — they will not trust in this Almighty 
Savior and thus complete or perfect their faith 
in Him; they will not repent and become an 
obedient disci])le of His, and thus exhibit and 
prove in real life the w^hoie trinity of their faith. 
Jesus says to such persons : "Ye wUl not come 
to me that ye might have life." "Ye icUJ not come 
to the light because your deeds are evil." 

Sinful men have become so carnal and sensual 
that they are inca])able of spiritual thought, faith 
or worshij). For God is a spirit of ubiquity, 



12) THE ECCENTRIC THJNKER: 



oinnipoteiit aiid immutable, and as such, unveil- 
ed, lie is a consuming fire, and sinners are afraid 
of Him, and instead of coming back to Him they 
use their agency in trying to escape His pres- 
ence, as they did at Mount Sinai when the law 
was given. But He veiled Himself in the hu- 
manity of Jesus, and thus '^God was manifest 
•(exhibited or shown to carnal men through the 
medium of their own corporeal senses, sight and 
hearing) in tlic flesh,"' that being thus clothed He 
might exhibit His lo.ve and mercy, destroy all 
slavish fear and encourage the sinner to return 
to His favor ^Hhrough the veil" — that is to say 
His Hesh — the humanity of Jesus. (See 1 Tim., 
3-16, also Heb., 10-20.) "God was in Christ 
reconciling the world unto Himself, not imput- 
ing their trespasses unto them.'' (2 Cor., 5-19.) 
God, being a spirit and omnipresent, the finite 
minds of human beings, clothed with carnality, 
cannot grasp the Divine Being nor approach 
Him by faith ; therefore He is, as it were, locat- 
ed, centralized and exhibited in the man Jesus, 
that every anxious candidate for Heavenly honor 
might know where to center his faith and how 
properly to direct all his energies. "This is the 
Lord's doing: it is marvelous in our eyes." This 
is the "tried corner stone," vrhich is "precious" 
to the true believer, but a stumbling stone and 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 121 



rock of offense to all "\Yho stumble at the Word, 
being disobedient." Deliverance from sin," and 
salvation from the pollutions of -this world can- 
not be obtained elsewhere. "For there is none 
other ifame under Heaven given among men, 
whereby we must be saved.*' 

The jailor was promised Salvation on the con- 
dition of faith in the Lord Jesus ; and Peter said 
to Cornelius and his household: "Whosoever 
believethin Him shall receive remission of sins." 
Our text assures us that faith in Jesus is the 
ivorlt oi God J but notwithstanding its combined 
simplicity and depth of meaning and also the 
plain declarations above quoted, yet doubtless 
the Scripture — "many are called, but few are 
chosen" — ^is fearfully fulfilled in our own day. 
For there are thousands who profess to believe 
in Christ and do not even claim that their sins 
are pardoned or that they are trying to do the 
work of God. But the Scriptures being true 
they must be mistaken. They certainly do not 
properly believe on Jesus, the Son of God, or 
they would have "received remission of sins'' 
and be doing the work of God. They may have 
two-thirds of faith in Him — conviction and assiir- 
nee — but certainly they have not ^n^s*^, the last 
but most essential part of faith. What! Be- 
lieve on the Lord Jesus and remain an impeni- 



122 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

tent sinner! Believe in hell and Heaven and 
not try to shun the former and reach the latter! 
What! Cheat, lie, defraud, gamble, commit 
adultery, murder, eat to gluttony, drink to 
drunkenness, desecrate the sacred Sabbath, pro- 
fane the holy name of God, scoff at His provi- 
dences, neglect studying His Hol^^ Word, treat 
His worship with, silent contempt, and then say 
you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, in the 
Bible, in hell, in Heaven ! ! ! ^o ! no ! — a thous- 
and times no ! — for then, why are your sins not 
pardoned? Why are you not doing the work of 
God? There must be something wrong. Let 
everyone examine himself and ascertain wheth- 
er or not he is in the faith ; and then endeavor 
by God's assistance to lead a new^ life and ex- 
hibit and prove his faith by works of obedience, 
avoiding sin and doing good, and thus prove 
his faith bv his works, as Abraham did when he 
offered his son Isaac. ''As ye receive Christ,so 
walk ye in Him.'' If you began the work of 
God by believing on Jesus, then continue and 
complete it in the same way. Jesus has taught 
us that we a^re continually as dependent upon 
Him as a branch is upon its parent vine. This 
relation can only be sustained by shunning evil 
and cleaving unto the Lord by faith. Christians 
should by their every word and act and by their 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 123 

Avhole life say, like Peter : ''We believe piiB 
art sure that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the 
liyiiig God.^' 

Jesus said unto the blind men : '"According 
to your faith, so be it unto you." From all of 
these texts, together with what we know of our- 
selves and others, we are forced to conclude 
that very few have complete, perfect faith in 
the continued presence, goodness and power of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. For it appears that 
God^s grace is bestowed upon individuals ac- 
cording to their faith and that each one's pecu- 
liar gifts are to be used "according to the pro- 
portion of faith"; but where is the Christian who 
has faith enough to command a sufdciency of 
grace to enable him to live and walk continually 
in the Spirit and never fulfill any of the lusts of 
the flesh ? Oh ! we of little faith ! why do we 
doubt and live so far below our privilege I "Ye 
ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that 
je may consume it upon your lusts." Here, 
perhaps, is the secret trouble. We do not trust 
in the Lord to keep us, saying, "Thy will be done," 
but we believe very much in the gratification of 
the lusts of the flesh and all our worldly desires. 
He that forsakes his siur; and continually be- 
lieves in the Lord is called to be a saint and an 
heir of glory, and the promise insures us that all 



m THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

things shall work together for his good. What 
has the devout Christian to fear? Being cjon- 
yinced and assured that Jesus is the Christ, let 
him honestly and sincerely forsake all sin and 
devoutly triistuiihe Lord and always abound in 
His work. 

This is the alpha and omega — the sum 
and substance — of all Christian theology, law 
and religion. It is the grand center, around 
which every other commandment clusters, from 
which obedience to them eminates, and to which 
each of them refers. Its simplicity is astonish- 
ing, but its fullness of meaning is beyond the 
grasp of the human understanding. Do not 
wait to ascertain which sect is exactly right nor 
what is the true mode of baptism — no need of 
procrastination — for whosoever will may liioic 
and do the "will'' and "work'' of God, and this 
work is to be done "in sincerity and truth," and 
"according to the proportion of faith." (See 1 
Cor., 5-8, also Eom., 12-6. Therefore there is 
now no lieed of waiting to understand all the 
Scriptures, for in this "Little Bible" Ave have it 

all — THIS IS THE WOUK OF GOD, THAT YE BE- 
LIEVE ON Him whom He hath sent. 

There Ib, therefore, now no condemnation to 
those who thus do the work of God — that is, 
believe on Jesus and love one another, as we 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. VZo 



are commanded — whosoever rejects the lusts of 
the flesh and honestly and sincerely lives con- 
tinually in the Spirit and ever does those things 
that are pleasing in the Lord's sight. But God, 
who knows the secret thoughts and intents of 
the heart, causes them to feel condemned when 
they fall into sin that they may repent before 
the light of faith and zeal of love are extin- 
guished. Every one should* speedily by faith go 
to Jesus with every condemning burden and 
leave them all with Him, for He has promised to 
give rest to the soul. The Lord has promised 
that no good thing shall be withheld from those 
who do not live under the condemnation of sin. 
Therefore let every one who desires to do the 
w^ork of God be very sure that all evil is purged 
out of his heart and the dominion of sin destroy- 
ed by the presence and power of the Holy 
Spirit, that he may by faith profitably partake of 
Christ, our passover, who has been sacriliced 
for us. ''Therefore let us keep the feast," (or 
live the Christian life) not by the old sinful in- 
dulgences of "malice and wickedness," but by 
the unadulterated words and acts of ''cincerity 
and truth" (See 1 Cor., 5-7, 8.) Unless the 
little preacher is greatly mistaken, this is most 
certainly the proper prescription for nearly every 
professed Christian of the present day. Lord 
Jesus, save the church from formality and world- 
linesG, 



THE COMPROMISE. 

Come unto me all ye that labor and are Leav- 
ily laden, and I will give you rest. — Matt. 11-28. 

Eest can only be realized and appreciated by 
the weary. First labor, then rest. 

The farmer plods his slow, weary way from 
early morn till late at night : and then he returns 
home to enjoy the repast prepared by his kind 
wife, and is glad to lie down to rest. At the 
close of the day the mechanic is glad to leave 
the clanking of tools and clatter of machinery to 
find a place to rest. Every person is born into 
this world, and engages in the battle of life; but 
sooner or later he finds a narrow resting i^lace 
in the cold charnel-house of the grave. 

All this means rest to the body; but the gift 
of Jesus is soul-rest — rest here, and rest up yon- 
der. Toil, labor and travail are common to all 
men on earth; but in Heaven such terms are un- 
know, for, * • there is rest for the weary.'' 

It was Jesus, the world's Redeemer, who ut- 
tered the language of the text. All the children 



THE ECCENKRIC THINKER. Ul 



of sinful Adam have been born into trouble, sor- 
row and wretchedness. They have ever proved 
themselves restless, discontented and unhappy. 
Jesus came into the world to remove the curse 
of sin, the cause of all this trouble ; and to give 
rest to all who labor under the heavy burden of 
sin. This burden is upon all, but the gift of re- 
lease and soul-rest, is offered to whosoever will 
come to Jesus and accept the blessing. This 
invitation plainly implies human agency, and the 
ability of any or all to come to Jesus, if they are 
so disposed. Jesus did not boast of His gifts 
and 'calling, as many of us do ; but '• made Him- 
self of no reputation,'* and acted as the servant 
of all men. He did not invite the people to 
come unto Him, until, by words and acts. He had 
proven that He was both willing and able 
to give rest to the soul, or anything else 
He was pleased to promise. Just before He 
gave the broad invitation in the text, He 
had declared that God, His Father, had deliv- 
ered all things into His hands ; and that no man 
knew either Him or His Father, but that they 
alone mutually knew each other. But this was 
not a bare declaration, for His whole life had 
sufficiently proven to Jiuman intelligence that 
He was not a mere man, but the exact fulfillment 
of all the prophecies concerning the promised 



128 THE ECCEXTKIC THINKER. 

Messiah. The preaching and writings of the 
apostles corroborate the testimony of the words 
and miracles of Jesus, and establish the fact be- 
yond a doubt, that He was clothed with divine 
power, and did the very work that the prophets 
had said the Messiah, should do. 

HaYiiig addressed the people as rational free- 
men, and given sufficient testimony of His di- 
vine mission, He does not coerce, but invites 
them back to their natural element — the favor of 
God — that ihej may find rest to their souls. He 
did not tell them how they should come — wheth- 
er bv sea or land — whether thev should walk, 
ride, or be carried by others. He does not say 
they should travel either south, north, east or 
west ; nor that they should cross the Jordan, or 
an3^ particular mountain. He did not invite 
them to Jerusalem, Mecca, or any particular city; 
nor did He say that all who come, must believe 
and know the same things ; all be dressed in uni- 
form, and stand just six feet three inches tall, 
and weigh precisely one hundred and forty-nine 
pounds. But He says come, and I will give you 
rest. He does not refer us to another, but hav- 
ing all power. He says, I will give you rest. 

Suppose two Jews in Galilee had decided to 
go to Jesus at Jerusalem for the promised rest. 
One of them hastens through Samaria, finds 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 129 

Jesus, claims, and obtains tlie blessing. The 
other, whose prejudice would not permit his 
passing through that despised country, crosses 
the 'Jordan, goes down on the other side, re- 
crosses, and goes up to Jerusalem, finds Jesus, 
and obtains the promised rest. But if he was 
like the prejudiced sectarians of our day, he 
would have said to the other : '' You have not 
received the promised rest ; you have no right to 
it, for vou did not come like I did ; vou came 
through Samaria, that polluted country. You 
had better go back, and come again, that you 
may be sure you are relieved of your burden.-^ 
The reader may emile at this illustration, but 
sectarian bigots everywhere are talking ju^t 
about such ridiculous foolishness as this. 

When Jesus was on earth, no two came to 
Him and made their requests known precisely 
in the same way. The leper said : " If thou wilt, 
thou canst make me clean.'' Jesus replied: "I 
will, (it) be thou clean.'' The blind men cried 
after Jesus ; but after some apparent delay. He 
said unto them : '' According to your faith, go 
be it unto you," and their eyes were opened. A 
certain woman fell down before Him, and im- 
plored Him to grant her request; but Jesus said 
to her tha.t it was not good to take the cl:"- 
dren's bread and give it unto dogs. The worn, i 



130 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

insisted that t be dogs were thankful for the 
crumbs that fell from the master's table. Her 
request was granted. Another woman said if 
she could only touch the hem of His garment 
she would be cured. She pressed her way 
through the crowd, touched, and was immedi- 
ately made whole. 

Ill the face of all these facts, Avho would dare 
say that there were any conditions except com- 
ing to Jesus in Mth. All who came to Jesus, 
and exercised faith in Him, were blessed— not 
one single exception can be cited. 

But Jesus was then on earth, in the flesh, and 
people could leave home, walk to Him, make 
their requestr3 known, and obtain the desires of 
their hearts. But now He is not to be found 
among men. He has been glorified, and dwells 
in Heaven. We cannot walk to Him, neither 
will our improver] methods of traveling carry 
us to Him, All the money of this world cannot 
pay the fare of one poor soul from earth to 
Heaven. Money may bring talented ministers 
from remote regions, but it cannot bring the 
Lord Jesus into our midst, as He was in Jeru- 
salem, more than eighteen hundred years ago. 
He is now a glorified Spiritual Being, and we 
can only go to Him in spirit — in the mind, by 



THE ECCEXTRIC THINKER. LSI 



We have already seen in the Essay on Salva- 
tion, that the coming- to Christ, and being, re- 
lieved of the burden of sin, is suspended on the 
condition of faith in God, through Christ, pre- 
ceded by true repentance. We are justified by 
faith, and being justified, we have peace with 
God. " Whosoever believeth on Him shall re- 
ceive remission of sins.'' '' Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. We 
must believe the record that God has given of 
His son. God loved the world, and gave His 
Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should 
not perish but have everlasting life. The words 
and works of Jesus were recorded, that men 
might believe, and believing, that they might 
have life. But Jesus is the express image of 
God — the human manifestation of Jehovah — for 
'^ in Him dwelleth the God-head bodily,-' and He 
"is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity." Man 
is sinful, and cannot approach divine purity, 
without renouncing and forsaking his sins. We 
were born in sin, and it is our native home and 
cherished dwelling place. We cannot save our- 
selves from its dominion. But the Lord givea 
us power to repent — to leave this sinful home — 
and he calls us to Him, that we may be eased of 
this heavy burden, and brought into a state of 
at-one-ment with God. Being thus conjoined. 



132 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



with Him by faith, we partake of His nature, as 
a branch does of the vine, and become pure as 
He is pure. 

iSTotwith standing any person may be relieved 
from the burden of sin so easily, yet many hesi- 
tate, because there is such a diversity of opin- 
ions concerning some of the doctrines of Chris- 
tianity. Thus, many are confused, and will not 
do even what they know to be right. But Jesus 
says : '^ Come unto me.'' Faith was the condi- 
tion when He was in the flesh — not the manner 
of coming, nor what was done before and after. 
So it is yet; repentance must precede, and bap- 
tism may come before or after ; but three-thirds 
of true religious faith, is the plainly expressed, 
only condition, of coming to Christ, and getting 
rid of the burden of sin. Christ is the door, the 
way, the truth and the life : and as there is only 
one condition, so all must enter this one door, 
travel the one way, reach the one truth, and en- 
joy the one life. There may be many opinions, 
as well as a diversity of operations, but there 
can be but one true faith, which unites us all 
with Grod, destroj^s the dominion of sin, and 
brings the peace of reconciliation. 

If that poor woman had not touched the Sa- 
vior's garment, she certainly would not have 
iiAen cured. Even so a person may conclude 



THE ECCENTHIC THINKER. 331 



that bai^tism by some peculiar mode is a pre- 
requisite to the pardon of sins ; and unless this 
condition of his be either removed or complied 
with, the faith that brings salvation is evidently 
impossible. But when he honestly and sincerely 
does w^hat he believes to be his duty, he may 
claim the blessing by faith, just like others. A 
person may have been taught from childhood 
that unless he confess his sin to a priest, the 
Lord will not remove its burden. He must be 
either taught better, or make the confession, or 
else the trinity of faith that brings the blessing 
is impossible. But when he goes and honestly 
and reverently confesses his sins, being truly 
penitent, he can then trust in the Lord to remove 
the burden ; and if he is perfectly sincere in all 
this, and has no mental reservations, he certain- 
ly is justified by faith, and has peace with God, 
just like a Methodist. Such persons cannot do 
any better, but w^hen they, or any others, being 
truly penitent, are convinced and assured, and 
will trust in the Lord, they will be blessed ; for 
not one word that God hath spoken can pass 
without fulfillment. 

When Jesus was in the fleshy as a maii, he was 
only present at one place at onetime. But hav- 
ing finished His Father's work here below. He 
said to His disciples : '' It is needful that I go 



1S4 THE ECCENTRIC THINKElt, 



a waj, and send the Comforter unto you." Now 
if Jesus had remained on earth as man, poverty, 
and ten thousand other things, would hinder us 
from going to Him. But He was glorified, and 
has ascended to Heaven, and come again in the 
person of the Holy Spirit, and is thus omnipres- 
ent and approachable everywhere. He not only 
invites every burdened sinner to come to Him, 
but He is now represented as standing at every 
sinner's heart, knocking for admittance. 

Dear reader, is this true? Do you feel sure 
of it? And are you burdened with a load of 
sin^ and desire to get rid of it ? Then accept 
this and the text as truth — act upon it — be will- 
ing, be anxious. Say in your heart : '' Come in, 
Lord Jesus,'' and He will enter your heart, bind 
the strong man of sin, and cast him out, and you 
will find rest unto your soul. Do not wait be- 
cause there are so nmiiy different opinions, but 
accept Jesus at once as your Almighty Savior, 
and begin to learn for ^^ourself all3"0u can about 
the Bible, the church and Christianity. The 
most important step in life is to get to Christ, to 
be freed from sin, and have rest for the soul. 

From all this, we see there is but one way of 
coming to Christ, and that is the way of faith. 
But we can go nowhere without leaving some- 
where. He who would go to his adopted home 



THE ECCEXTRIC THINKER. 13: 



in HeaTeii must leave his native home on earth 
— must die to self and the sinful world — be cru- 
cified with Christ, and reckoned buried with 
Him, that he may walk with God in newness of 
life. ''There are diversities of gifts, but the 
same spirit;'' ''and there are diversities of opera- 
tions, but it is the same God which worketh all 
in all.'' In this sin-smitten world, it is not prob- 
able that we will ever understand the truths of 
the Bible exactly alike ; but all true Christians 
can and should, by a devout, religious faith, 
meet in Christ, and remain united in the one 
body by the holy bonds of Charity: "For by 
one spirit are we all baptized into one body; 
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free,'^ 
Methodist or Baptist, Protestant or Catholic, if 
Christians at all, " we all have been made to 
drink into one Si)irit." Kot that any of these 
is exactly right in ever3^ particular : but if they 
have come to Christ by faith, and received the 
pardon of sins, and are made to drink into one 
spirit, they are all members of the one body, 
and quickened by the same life-giving power — 
Christ Jesus is their common Lord and Master, 
and they are all brethren. He who is not a 
member of the visible- body, certainl^^ cannot be 
quickened and kept alive by the power of the 
spiritual body within. But the members of 



136 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

Christ's body are not to be known by either 
creed, sect, or baptism, but by their love and 
care for each other — by their keeping the Lord's 
commandments — shunning evil and doing good 
— and by the exhibition in real hfe of the fruits 
of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
gentleness, meekness and faith. 

There is certainly too much ado about acting 
and believing just as I do. Each one should 
walk by his own faith, not by the faith of anoth- 
er. If this is not the law of Christian life, surely 
w^e would have been informed exactly how to be 
baptized, and when and how everything else 
should be done. The little girl who was con- 
verted under the railroad bridge, went about 
shouting, and saying to others : " If you want 
to be converted, just get under the railroad 
bridge." Many, like the little maid, seem to 
think that the place and manner where and how 
they were blessed, is the best, if not the only 
way to the Savior. But such persons, if spirit- 
ual Christians at all, are evidently still in infancy, 
and under the influence of carnality. Some for 
Paul, somefor Apollos ; some for the Methodist, 
some for the Baptist ; aoiue for immersion, and 
some for effusion ; but since God is not a re- 
specter of persons, and makes no difference be- 
tween the Jew and the Gentile, purifying* each 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKEK. 137 

one's heart by faith — what difference does it 
make if the life is hid with Christ in God, from 
whom all spiritual increase must come? "We 
are laborers together with God/' and " are built 
upon the foundation of the apostles and proph- 
ets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner 
stone." 

Then, dear sinner, turn and come to Jesus 
just now. O ! wanderer from God ! come home, 
and be made a part of this spiritual building, not 
made with hands. Will you come ? 



s lE^ IE! a TJ Xj -^ T I o isr . 

MELCHIZEDEK. 

The name Melchizedek has* been explained as 
^'the jiistifier of those who dwell in Him.'' The 
word priest signifies one who acts as a mediator 
between men and God, and is essential to their 
mutual intercourse. But who or what has 
ever been necessary to man's intercourse with 
his Creator f What besides the Lord Jesus 
can be^ considered mediator, and the jitsUfier of 
those who diveU in Him f the same to be a type 
of Christ and king of righteousness and peace 
perpetually. 

This Melchizedek certainly could not have 
been a man, clothed with mortality, for he was 
without father and mother or beginning or end- 
ing of days. Abraham had been chosen as a 
peculiar friend and servant of God and was him- 
self a priest, for he repeatedly built altars and 
offered sacrifices ; therefore it is highly improb- 
able that a mortal man would be permitted to 
come between him and God, as a imest. Had 



THE ECCENTPJC THINKER. ISO 



lie been a Canaanitish king, he certainly would 
have been interested in the result of the battle ; 
but the King of Sodom, only, manifested interest 
in the spoils and the persons re-captured. How 
could Abraham excuse himself for giving a tenth 
of all to Melchizedek, since he afterwards re- 
fused to accept anything at the hands of the 
King of Sodom ? 

This priest of the Most High God certainly 
could not have been an angel, for then he would 
have been created and had a beginning of days. 
If an angel, he has certainly done the world very 
little good, for we know not that he ever acted as 
priest but once, and then for a single individual, 
and when il does not seem to have been neces- 
sary, for Abraham could have riide the offering 
himself. Surely, then, we may conclude that 
this priest was neither a man nor an angel. Yet 
it is evident from Scripture that something 
personified as a man, and named Melchizedek; 
Avas priest, at least, in the days of Abraham, St. 
Paul says of him, ^'he livethJ^ He, like Christ, 
ahidefli a priest continually. Therefore we 
should look for him among the living — stiil ex- 
ercising his priestly office. 

"Without faith it is impossible to please God.'^ 
Here we see faith is necessari/ to our intercourse 
with God. 



140 THE ECCENTEIC THINKER. 

"Being justified by faitli, we have peace with 
God.'' Here, then, is the jiistifier of men in the 
court of Heaven. 

''By faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacri- 
fice than Cain; b}^ which he 'obtained witness 
that he was righteous.'' In this text, faith seems 
to be personified, spoken ofasanagent, a priest 
and a mediator. It is represented as carrying 
the offering to Heaven and justifying Abel be- 
fore the Almighty ; and then as returning and 
bearing testimony" to the acceptance of both the 
offering and himself; for "by it he obtained wit- 
ness that he was righteous." 

Again: "Being justified by faith, v>'^e have 
peace with God." Here God and man are rep- 
resented as enemies, and, faith mediating, caused 
a treaty of peace to be signed. Abraham's faith 
brought about a special covenant between God 
and his family. It is hj a continual active faith 
that the Christian remains in the favor of God. 
Surely, then, faith can be very appropriately 
termed King of Salem, which is King of Peace. 

Abraham's faith was counted unto him for 
righteousness. The righteousness of God is 
now represented as being imputed without 
works, through faith in Christ Jesu^s. We fre- 
quently read of the righteousness of faith — that 
is, faith's righteousness, or that which is caused 



THE ECCE]SITIUC THINKER. 141 

by it, or is imputed by or through it. Hence it 
appears that faith exercises a kingly authority 
ev^er righteousness, and may therefore be con- 
sidered king of righteousness, as well as king of 
peace. 

Faith has neither father nor mother, beginning 
of days nor ending of 3^ears. It has ever been 
essential to man's intercourse with his Creator. 
It ''abideth a priest'' and a justifier "continually." 
The Kingdom of Heayen consisteth of right- 
eousness, peace and joj in the Holy Ghost. 
Faith causes this kingdom to be established in 
the heart and reigns over it as king. Here, 
theu, behold the mysterious Melchizedek, who 
from the worldly side, is man's justifier — the king 
of righteousness, and the king of peace. 

But Melchizedek met Abraham, and blessed 
him, and brought forth bread a;nd wine. Well, 
the word brought means to cause to come, to 
cause the obtaining of, as well as to 
come and briug. Xoav, the excitement 
of the battle being over, Abraham is 
made to contemplate the goodness of 
' God ; and bread and wine are brought, that the 
soldiers may be refreshed and mutual friendship 
shown between all present. His faith in the 
promises of God being brought into lively exer- 
cise, he considers the battle and victory the Al- 



142 TtlE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

mighty's ; and tliis faith as tlie great high priest 
and representative of Almighty God, deiiiaiids 
that an aclaiowledgeinent of divine presence and 
assistance be made by offering a tenth of all the 
spoils. It has ever been a custom in war for 
the spoils taken in battle to belong to the vic- 
tors. But in this bnttle God and men were con- 
federate; and Abraham had no right to dispose 
of the Lord's share of the spoils. This, it seems, 
is why he offered a tenth of all, without consult- 
ing the King of Sodom. The remaining nine- 
tenths were his own, but he chose to turn it all 
over to the King of Sodom. 

We are informed that while the Jewish priests 
were subject to death, Melchizedek was not. 
(See Heb., 7-8.) He was made like Jesus — 
'^abideth a priest continually.'^ Christ was made 
a priest after His order — that is, "after the pow- 
er of an endless life.'' (See ver. 1(3 and 17.) The 
ancients delighted in parables, symbols and dark 
sayings, and names with them signified either 
quality or office, and sometimes both. There- 
fore, from all that has been said, it seems highly 
probable that the mysterious Melchizedek is a 
synonym for the triune faith. 



We learn from verses 29 and 30 of the lirst 
chapter of Genesis that the food of man, beasts 
and creeping things was the same — -'every herb 
and the fruit of everv tree on the face of the 
WHOLE ExiRTH.'^ From these verses we may 
also reasonabl^^ infer that the territory occui)ied 
by man was the same on which the beasts and 
creeping things were to feed and live. This 
will appear more evident when Ave consider 
what is said in the 26th verse of the same chap- 
ter; where we are told that man was to have 
dominion over all the animal creation, over all 
the earth. Then certainly man was not in a 
small inclosnre, called a garden, and the other 
creatures extended therefrom : for then how 
could they all eat the same food and man exer- 
cise dominion over all these inferior creatures'? 

In the second chapter we are informed that 
God planted a garden, eastward in Eden, 
in which man was placed, but at the same 
time he Avas monarch of the whole earth. The 
sum of all this seems to be as follows: God 



144 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER 



createdtheplantej trees and herbs and set them 
growing all over the dry hind, and called the 
whole face of the earth a garden. 

The chaotic state of the earth was horrible^ — 
irWwut form and void, and darliiess ivas upon 
the face of the deep. When, however, there was 
light and the dry land appeared, though bare, it 
was greatly improved, but not a suitable aaid 
pleasant home for man. But when the green 
trees, i^lants and herbs were set growing all 
over the dry land — all loaded with luxuriant 
fruit — then the earth being oo bountifully sup- 
plied, became a suitable and delightful abode 
for man. The whole face of the earth was then 
so grandly decorated, we should not be sur- 
prised that it obtained a new name ; and where 
could a more appropriate one have been found 
than Eden, which means pleasure or delight. 

This Eden was beautifully set with fruit trees, 
plants, herbs and many other good things, and 
no thorns, briars and thistles were permitted to 
grow in this vast domain; then, surely, no one 
will object to calling it a garden. So it seems 
natural thai these two words should be thus 
Joined, and we have the Garden of Eden. 

The garden was eastward in Eden. The an- 
cients considered the earth a flat surfece, and it 
is probable that Moses simply meant the east- 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. U: 



erii part of this plane ; or, as we would now saj^, 
the Eastern Hemisphere. 

"A river went out of Eden to water the gar- 
den ; and from thence it was parted and became 
into four heads.'' 

It is a remarkable fact that no such river 
was ever known, which leads us to suspect that 
it should not be understood literally. God's 
thoughts and ways are superior to ours, and all 
His works are executed upon a grand and ex- 
tended scale. Therefore we should not only 
expect His garden to extend from sea to sea, 
but the river V7hich supplies it with moisture to 
be proportionally large. 

Physical geography, informs us that the cen- 
ter of Asia is like a vast flat roof, which pours 
its water off in four directions. ^STow, by mak- 
ing some allowance for change of sea coast, and 
the appearance of more dry land, we certainly 
may plausibly conjecture that these four grand 
divisions of rain-fall upon the eastern hemisphere 
will answer to ihe four heads of the river. By 
supposing Hindoostan to have formerly been 
called Havilah, we may readily conclude that 
Pison, or the first river, means all the water that 
flowed into the China, Bengal and Arabian seas ; 
and thus the whole land of Havilah was coi:> 
passed by this water. (See Gen., 2-11.) 



146 THE ECCEisTRIC THINKER. 



Gihon, the second river, compassed the whole 
land of Ethiopia (which, perhaps, included all of 
Africa.) and it probably means all the water 
which flowed into the Eed and Mediterranean 
seas. Thus the whole land of Ethiopia was sur- 
rounded, liiddekel flowed 'Howard the east of 
Assyria,'^ and probably refers to all the water 
which floAved out between east and north; and 
Euphrates included the remaining' water shed, 
that is, all the water which flowed out between 
north and west. 

That these were not literal rivers is quite ev- 
dent ; for who ever heard of a river that flowed 
all around any country ! ! 

When sin had cursed, not only the human 
family, but the v^'hole earth, and when tijorns 
and thistles, and their kindred vegetation, be- 
gan to put forth Gpontaneously all over the face 
of the earth, and when its delight, pleasure and 
beauty were destroyed, it no longer could be 
appropriately called The Garden of Eden. 



The subject of water baptism has, unquestion- 
ably, been one of the greatest causes of secta- 
rian division and strife in the Christian church 
almost frojn its veiy beginning. This has ever 
been the battle-ground of the most desperate 
struggles of ^Christian, civil logomachy. The 
enemy has certainly often taken advantage of 
this state of aifairs to surprise and defeat the 
Christian army. While Christians have been so 
zealously engaged in civil or internal warfare 
over water baptism, they have not only failed to 
be properly agressive toward the enemy, but 
not being wide awake and on their guard, the 
foe have frequently been the aggressors, and. 
done great damage throughout the territory of 
Christianity. A great deal of time, money and. 
talent have evidently been unnecessarily ex- 
pended on this subject. The command was to 
go and preach the Gospel, and baptize ; but with 
many, it seems, this has been, to a great extent, 
reversed. They wrangle about the mode of 
baptism, and neglect the more weighty and im- 
portant doctrines of the Gospel. 



148 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



Something is certainly wrong in Christian war- 
fare, for it is quite evident that Chistianity has 
lost its primitive i^urity and power ; and it is 
highly probable that the sectarian strife about 
water baptism, and its different modes, together 
with other subordinate subjects, is the great 
cause of the sad decline, seen and deplored 
everywhere. If this difficult i)roblem could 
have been solved, surely all the talent, piety, ig- 
norance and superstition brought to bear upon 
it would have long ago settled it forever. But 
it is still an open question, and will, doubtless, 
ever so remain. 

Xow, since God is our Father, and has infinite 
love for His children, an*d as all Scripture is 
given by inspiration, and there is a sufficiency 
for profitable doctrine and knowledge ; and 
since the mode and design of water baptism is 
not clearly revealed : therefore we have the best 
of reasons for concluding that these things are 
either (or both) of minor importance, or that it 
is best for each one, as an intelligent, free man, 
to avail himself of the general information with- 
in his reach, and then act according to his own 
faith — for he should walk b}^ faith, not by sight, 
since he has no positive order or instructions on 
the subject. 

The Jews, as servants and minor heirs, under 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. ]49 

the old covenant, were told exactly how to per- 
form almost every duty ; but Christians, as the 
Lord's freemen, are not so instructed ; however, 
we are plainly told that they should walk by 
faith. This accounts for the difference of tone 
in the writings of the Old and X ew Testaments. 
Champions in the baptism warfare appeal to the 
Christian J'athers for proof of their position ; 
but invariably they obtain too much for any of 
them. These witnesses testify that infants were 
baptized, but on cross examination, they state 
that they were immersed, and further ,^ that all 
this was done to remove the pollution of original 
guilt, (and actual sins, if any had been commit- 
ted,) and in order to the child's salvation. Some 
of them went so far as to advise that children 
should not be baptized until l^they were about 
grown, fearing they might sin after baptism,there 
being no other way of getting rid of the guilt of 
sin. So we see the most learned, even of the 
early Christian ages, must have been greatly 
confused on the subject of water baptism. 

Debaters on this subject have ever appealed 
to Latin, Greek and Hebrevf Jexicons ; and also 
to ancient and modern histories ; each one finds 
enough circumstantial evidence to keep his 
guessing machine going, but he only accepts 
what will corroborate his^own i)et theory; he 



150 THE ECCENTIUC TIHNKEK. 

destroys what he can of the rest, and leaves the 
remainder for his oi)i)onents. In this way the 
combatants receive fresh supphes of ammuni- 
tion, and thus the sacrilegious church logomachy 
is perpetuated. ''Behold, every man's sword 
was against his fellow% and there was a very 
great discomfiture/' '' But if ye bite and devour 
one another, take heed that^^e be not consumed 
one of another/' 

When a])peal is loade directly to the I^ew Tes- 
tament, we discover the same Babylonish con- 
fusion ; and the greatest strength of all the amis 
and ammunition of each soldier, like the Philis- 
tians, is hurled against his felloAv. The Chris- 
tian world has ever been divided on the design, 
mode and subjects of water baptism. One par- 
ty is of the opinion that unless the sacrament is 
administered, no one, not even an infant, can 
get rid of the curse of sin and be received into 
Heaven. But this opinion is most certainly 
w^rong ; for it is not only without Scripture foun- 
dation, but is evidently sacrilegious, and derog- 
atory to the holy character of God, our Father. 
For surel3^ no earthly parent would punish a 
child for not performing a task which he was 
whollj' incapable of accomplishing, or of which 
he was entirelj^ ignorant. Then is it not impious 
and irrreverent to attribute an act infinitely 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKEll. 151 



more severe to our kind Heavenly Father ? Xo 
one can estimate how much more willing and 
anxious God is to do good to His creatures than 
an earthly parent to give good things to his 
children. But one faction of this party admit 
that infants and idiots may be saved without 
this rite ; but they contend that there is no prom- 
ise of the pardon of sins to others without it. 
^hej appeal to Acts, 2-38, for j roof to sustain 
tiiis opinion: "Eepent, and be baptized every 
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of sins." They guess that Peter there 
meant water baptism, but it is highly probable 
that he did not. The Savior had commanded 
the apostles to baptize in the name of the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; but Peter upon 
this occasion exhorted the people to be bap- 
tized in the name of the Lord Jesus. If this 
name comprehends the other two, why weie 
they commanded to baptize into the three 
names? John the Baptist, who also was filled 
with the Holy Ghost, preached the baptism of re* 
pentance "for the remission of sins," and if Pe- 
ter preached water baptism "for the remission 
of sins," then, they being filled with the Holy 
Ghost, must have preached opposite doctrines. 
But if Peter meant that these enquirers should 
repent and be baptized (in the passive 



152 THE ECCEXTRrC TIIJNKER 



Yoice) with the baptism of repentance, then 
these two texts of scripture are harmonized and 
the force of neither is destroyed. This being 
true, and there not being a parallel text in the 
whole Bible, it is certainly much more reason- 
able to sui)pose that Peter meant the baptism of 
repentance than any other. Several kinds of 
baptism are spoken of in the New Testament 
and as neither the language nor surrounding 
circumstances in this instance decide which is 
meant, we are left to conjecture and inferential 
evidence. Paul Avas conimanded to arise and be 
baptized and wash away his sins, calling on the 
name of the Lord. But by examining the par- 
allel texts it will be seen that his eyes had al- 
ready been opened, and he had received the 
Holy Ghost before he was baptized, and there- 
fore it is highly improbable that this sacrament 
had anything to do with the pardon of his sins. 
The above is PauPs own language when relat- 
ing his experience, and he appears simply to re- 
fer to this rite as the visible, dividing line be- 
tween his Christian and former life. By this 
public act he severed himself from Judaism and 
united with the x^ersecuted disciples, that each 
party might know just where he then stood. 

Being convinced and assured that Jesus was 
the Christ, and yielding and putting his trust in 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 153 



Him, his sins were certainly pardoned by faith 
according to his own teaching to others before 
he was filled with the Holy Ghost. This was 
known both by the Lord and himself; yet it was 
proper by this visible sign to make known to 
men this great change in his life and thus put off 
or wash away his sins, or former life, at the be- 
ginning of the new life in Christ Jesus. In every 
other place in the Xew Testament where this 
rite is referred to, the reader must certainly do, 
some wild guessing to even suppose its observ- 
ance essential to the pardon of sms, for there are 
so many places where we see this blessing of- 
fered and received on the simple and only con- 
dition of faith, preceded by repentance; and not 
a word said about water baptism. (See Essay 
on Salvation.) 

There are others who contend that candidates 
entering the church should be baptized, because 
their sins are pardoned. With them, none but 
those who repent, believe and profess conver- 
sion, or re-generation, have a right to be baj)- 
tized and be received in the Christian church, 
hence they reject infant membership and their 
baptism. These two last-mentioned parties play 
upon the word "for"; the former contend that it 
means *'in order to,'' and the hitter, "because of. ' 
The truth is, it is sometimes used in the former 



154 THE ECCENTRIC THIXKEll. 

and sometimes in the latter sense ; while in other 
connections it simply means "because.'' We 
should judge of its meaning by the office it per- 
forms in the sentence. The x^arty last referred 
to say this rite is a door into the visible church, 
and should symbolize the death and burial of 
our Lord. They do not, however, tell us where 
the^^ are authorized to execute this symbol, nor 
do they attempt to explain the absurdity of be-. 
ing a member of the spiritual body, but not of 
the visible church. 

There is still another party who explain the 
design of this sacrament as an outward sign of 
an inward work of grace, whether it be admin- 
istered before or after re-generation. With them 
it is a visible mark or sign of citizenship in 
Christ's Kingdom, and takes the place of cii^- 
cumcision in the Jewish church. Therefore 
they advocate both infant baptism and member- 
ship. They usually- assume this to be true with- 
out attempting to prove it, but should they suc- 
ceed in establishing this position, we could 
readily see why male children should be bap- 
tized — but we would certainty still be without 
either scripture or logic to require or justify the 
baptism of female infants. If females were 
recognized members in the Jewish church 
without any visible sign or mark, we logically 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. ]5r> 

infer from tlie premises Iain down that they 
should not be bai)tized at all. But it is object- 
ed, further, that infants cannot repent and be- 
lieve, and therefore they were not included in 
the general commission ; for under it the prom- 
ise is to those who believe and are baptized. 
Being already lit subjects for Heaven — needing^ 
no repentance and not being capable of believ- 
ing in the Lord Jesus Christ — their baptism is 
not only superfluous, but wrong. 

]!^ow, some of these contending parties have 
unquestionably mistaken the design of water 
baptism, and perhaps all of tnem are wrong, in 
some partic liars at least. 

There is sharper contention about the mode, 
but perhai)S not such a great cl'versitp of opinion 
as about the design of baptism. A few boldly 
assert that this sacrament of the church should 
invariably be administered by eff'usion — either 
sprinkling or pouring. They say the v>^ater should 
be poured upon the candidate, to symbolize the 
pouring out of the spirit upon the people, which 
is called baptism. Further, they argue that ef- 
fusion must be the true mode, because the pro- 
phet speaks of Jesus as sprinkling many nations; 
and turther, as this is found in the last verse of 
the chapter preceding the one the eunuch was 
reading when Phillip preached to him. They 



15G THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

infer that the eunuch must have gotten his idea 
of baptism from that verse. (See Is., 5-3.) They 
play upon the prei)Osition "with.'' John baptized 
tvifli water ; therefore they say lie must have ap- 
plied the water to the subject. We fell a tree 
tvith an ax — we apply the ax to the tree, not the 
reverse. 

There are others who. say baptism is some- 
thing- to be done, and that it may be performed 
either by immersion, sprinkling or pouring. 
They say baptism means "to v/ash,'^ audit does 
not matter how it is performed, so the work is 
done. They, like all the rest, refer to diction- 
aries and histories to prove their position. They 
show from the lexicons that the original word 
for baptism has many definitions, and they prove 
from histories that all along the Christian cen- 
turies this sacrament has been administered in 
different ways. They infer from texts in the 
Xew Testament, where this rite is spoken of, 
that it was sometimes performed by immersion 
and sometimes by effusion. But it is certainly 
quite clear that they, like every one else, are 
forced to rely for proof of their position upon in- 
ference and conjecture. 

But there are a great many who boldly assert 
that nothing will do for Christian baptism ex- 
cept the immersion of truly converted persons 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 157 

in water by a proper administrator. They ap- 
peal to lexicons to prove that immersion is at 
least the first and most important definition of 
the original word for baptism. They show from 
history that this mode has been recognized and 
practiced ever since the beginning of the 
Christian era. They contend, further, that this 
was the only mode practiced during the first 
two or three centuries. They infer, or guess, 
that John the Baptist practiced only this mode 
— because he preached near the river — because 
Christ, after baptism, came ui) straightway out 
of the water — because he preached in Enon, 
where there was much water, But the object- 
ors reply — John baptized icitli water — straight- 
way does not mean straight up, but simply im- 
mediately — John at first baptized in Bathabara, 
bevond Jordan — and further, that John could 
not have immersed so many in so short a time. 
They conjecture, as they think with much cer- 
tainty, that Phillip immersed the eunuch be- 
cause they both went down into the water and 
came up out of the water. But the objector 

replies : ''They went down from the carriage 
into the place where the water was, and I guess 
Phillip baptized him icitl} water by pouring it on 
his head, just as John did; or else he was sprin- 
kled, as the prophet which he had just been 
readinp-, said Christ would do.'' 



I5S THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

This party exultingly refer to the sixth chapter 
of Eomaiiis for positive proof that immersion is 
the true mode of water baptism. They quote: 
^'Therefore Ave are buried with him by baptism 
into death." They frequently quote in this con- 
nection: ^' Arise to walk in newness of life/' 
but the arise is not found here. They claim that 
this is positive proof that baptism is a burial, 
and therefore immersion is the true mode. The 
objector suggests that they make a very wild 
conjecture to even think of water baptism in this 
place. St. Paul says : "We are buried'' — now^ 
at tbis very time. Don't you think he must have 
had water-proof parchment to write on, or he 
would have gotten it w^et if he was then — while 
writing — buried under the water? Besides, he 
says we are buried bu baptism^ not by a preach- 
er ; it w^as unto death — this baptism kills. Pie 
adds, '^^valk in newness of life"^ — not arise to 
walk. The subject of this whole chapter ex- 
cludes the idea of water. 

This baptism carries us into Christ. Else- 
where we are told : " Bj one spirit are we all 
baptized into one body," This must be the bap- 
tism referred to, for Paul includes himself in 
both places. In 1 Cor., 12, 13, we are told plain- 
ly that the spirit baptism carries us into Christ; 
but in Romans we are not told what kind of 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKEE. ir)9 



baptism is meant, but the only reasonable infer- 
ence is that it is the same as the other. The ob- 
jector further insists that this burial certainly 
has reference to the exhortation of the apostle 
recorded elsewhere : *' Eeckon yourselves dead 
indeed unto the world'' — that is, be completely 
absorbed in the Christian work and warfare, 
'' always abounding in the work of the Lord.'' 

But the exclusive immersionist makes another 
appeal to Col., 2-12: '' Buried with Him in bap- 
tism." But the objector replies that this burial 
is in haptiHm^ not in the water. Besides, this is 
evidently a substantial repetition of the preced- 
ing verse, where it is called, ''the circumcision 
made without hands, in putting off the body of 
the sins of the flesh," and certainly can have no 
reference to water baptism. 

Finally they quote : '' One Lord, one Faith, 
one Baptism." From this they infer that there 
is but one baptism ; and as nearly all admit that 
immersion is baptism, this must be the one re- 
ferred to. But the objector replies — there are 
several baptisms, but the apostle was evidently 
speaking of the one by which we are all bap- 
tized. (See 1 Cor., 12-13.) The subject is Chris- 
tian life — the unity and influence of the Spirit. 
Immersion is an unreasonable guess. ^Yho in- 
formed you that the other bai)tisms are all done 



36) TME ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

away with? In Hebrews we find tlie word in 
its plural sense — '^ baptisms.'' (See Heb., 6-2.) 
From all that has been said on this subject, it 
is quite evident that if the design and mode of 
water baptism ever was clear, it is not so now. 
We find that each contending party has at least 
some circumstantial evidence justifying their 
opinions and practice concerning this sacrament 
of the Christian church. It would be very un- 
charitable not to conclude that each of these 
schools contain very pious and learned men and 
women, who are sincerely seeking after truth 
and endeavoring to do the will of God. Doubt- 
less we will never see things exactly alike in 
this sin-smitten world; but being all baptized 
into the one body by the one spirit we should 
endeavor to keen the unity of this one spirit in 
the bond of peace. Christian charity will enable 
its possessor to endure kindly the harsh criti- 
cism of those who differ from himself. Then, 
since not only the ignorant and worldly-minded^ 
but the most pious and learned of all Christen- 
dom differ on the design and mode of water 
baptism, should we not infer that our Father in 
His kind providence, lias so provided instruc- 
struction on this subject that each sincere seek- 
er after truth and holiness might, according to 
his own ability as an intelligent, free man, avail 



/ 



THE ECCEXTKIC THINKER. 1(U 

liimself of the general instruction within his 
reach and Avalk according to his own faith and 
understanding? This is certainly a charitable 
consideration of the subject, and surely no one 
will consider it too liberal. Then it is nof neces- 
sary to say one to another : ''Know the Lord/' 
^'believe as I do'^ or "do as I have done." Each 
member of the one body should perforui his own 
peculiar work and contribute to the w^ell-being 
of all the rest. The hand cannot do the work 
of the feet, nor can the ear perform the func- 
tions of the eye, neither can persons of different 
mental capacity and opportunities believe, un- 
derstand and act exactly alike. A human being- 
is, to a great extent, a creature of circum- 
stances. Natural ability, educational advantages 
and surrounding circumstances have much 
to do in forming one's faith and directing the 
course of life. The mental and spiritual capac- 
ity and powers of a human being are hke melted 
lead — they take shape from the moulds in which 
they are cast. Infinite justice certainly will not 
condemn a Hindoo because he does not know 
and believe what Christians do. A person born 
and educated under Catholic influence is likely 
to remain in that faith unless he be taken out 
from under that influence, melted down and 
then moulded over. Each of the sects is exer- 



16-2 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

cising a similar moulding power over all wJio 
are under their influence. He who willingly 
places himself in any sectarian or political mould 
and cheerfully remains there will certainly in a 
Ycry .short time take the proper shape. Surely 
few close observers have failed to see this fact 
demonstrated before their eyes. Even learned 
and pious men, of high party spirit, getting into 
some trouble with their own sect or^ party, will 
gradually recede and fiiiolly unite with another, 
and soon be as true as steel in their new home. 
True,^people sometimes change without any help 
from the old home folks, but this should be 
considered the exception, not the rule, Many 
do not endorse their sectarian creed, but still 
they will not forsake the old home and follow the 
example of St. Paul. 

The sum of the whole matter, then,apx)ears to 
be that each should be perfectl^^ sincere — hon- 
est with his God, his fellows and himself — learn 
as much as possible and ever believe and do 
the very best he can. Difference of opinion, 
then, is a na^tural consequence and each Chris- 
tian should be filled with that charity which 
covers a multitude of faults. Then let each 
Christian and each sect as willingly recognize 
the church rights and privileges of others as 
the3^ are to allow each family to dwell in their 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 103 



own home and liave their own peculiar domeslic 
arrangements. . When this desideratum shall 
have united the contending parties in the bond 
of peace, the lamb and the lion may lie down to- 
gether and the war in Heaven will certainly be 
brought to a close. 

But, after all, party prejudice has doubtless 
darkened this subject ; and if each one would 
divest himself of all bias, the blessings of the 
millennial dav would soon reveal thinos in a 
clearer light. It is highly probable that one 
cause of the . great diversity of opinion on the 
subject of water baptism is attributable to the 
fact that few, if any, trace its history from its ori- 
gin as a church ordinance. This rite is abruptly 
introduced in the Xew Testament, without either 
comment or apology for the innovation. The 
people wanted to know of John the Baptist why 
he was baptizing, if he was neither the Christ 
nor the prophet ; which plainly implies that they 
were familiar with both the design and mode of 
baptism, as he was administering the ordinance. 
They were evidently expecting both Christ and 
His fore-runner to initiate their disciples in this 
way. Had this rite been entirely new to them, 
the administrator doubtless would have ex- 
plained all about it, and they certainly would 
have asked a great many questions if they were 



1G4 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 



like men of the present day. But not a single 
exj^lanation nor inquiry is recorded; therefore 
we may reasonably conjecture that they were 
perfectly familiar with this church ordinance. 

ISTow we learn from Jewish writings that 
water baptism, as an initiatory rite, had been 
practiced in the Jewish church since the return 
from the Babylonish captivity. N ot withstand- 
ing this poeitiveinr-truction to worship at Jeru- 
salem, yet at the time referred to they com- 
menced building synagogues all over the coun- 
try, and worshi]) in these buildings continued, 
not only till Christ came, but even to the pres- 
ent day. So far as we know, they did this with- 
out divine instruction. They proselyted the 
Gentiles and brought them into their church. 
They required these converts to be baptized. 
Each adult waded into the water and immersed 
himself, while the proselyter stood on the bank 
of the stream. The priest took the infant and 
small children, if any, and immersed them. Then 
the whole family^ w?.s considered in the church: 
but the children born unto these parents after 
this were not baptized. Thus this rite was 
practiced in every synagogue viheii a Gentile 
femily was brouglt into the church. The orig- 
inal design of this ordinance, as performed ly 
the Jews, seems to have been simply a visible 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKEB. 165 

sig'ii or public declaration of the change from 
Idolatry to the worship of the God of the Je\YS. 
It was the dividing line between the two re- 
ligions. Just so when the Indians would ini- 
tiate Captain John Smith into their tribe, they 
carried him into the water to wash the white 
man's blood out of him. At the command of 
God, Abraham left his native country, traveled 
westw^ardanu crossed over the river Euphrates; 
and his return was forbidden. He took a new 
name. The people there called him Hebrew — 
that is, the man who crossed over the river. 
Just so, the Gentiles crossed over the river, or 
line,Jby submitting to the ordinance of baptism; 
and ever afterwards he was called a Jew. If 
the Jewish writings can be accredited, this is 
why the ordinance of water baptism was fre- 
q-uently practiced for several centuries before 
the appearance of John the Baptist. If John 
was using this ordinance according to the na- 
tional custom, the silence before spoken of is 
readily accounted for. 

That this rite has ever been used as a sign of 
a change of mind or of faith, seems evident from 
the baptism for the dead. Even the most pious 
are overwhelmed with sorrow when a relative 
or friend dies : but finally they fix their minds on 
the promised resurrection, and receive comfort 



360 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

— they undergo a cliaiige of mind, and become 
reconciled — and are thus baptized for the dead. 
The Israelites at the Eed Sea were baptized un- 
to Moses. They had lost confidence in him ; but 
the Sea was divided, and while passing through, 
they underwent a change of mind — from enmitj^ 
to that of confidence and friendshi]). How else 
could they be baptized unto ]\Loses, in the cloud 
and in the sea ? 

If John baptized according to the Jewish cus- 
tom, there is no mysteiy about his bai)tizing so 
mauy in a short time. He i)reached the King- 
dom of Heaven at hand, and required at least a 
promise of repentance. All who believed his 
]>reaching, went in mind from the Jewish to the 
new faith; and according to their custom, he 
could signify this change by immersing himself. 
Every time they underwent a change of faith or 
religion,they were bai)tized to signify the change. 
When Jesus began to preach, all of John's dis- 
ciples who believed must have undergone anoth- 
er change of faith. John bai)tized into the faith 
of the kingdom near at hand. Those who went 
over to Christ must have been baptized into the 
faith of the kingdom already come, and that 
Jesus is the Christ. The people of Jerusalem 
and round about Jordan, were all baptized of 
John. From the whole tenor of the Gospels, we 



THE ECCENTPJC THINKER. 167 

iiifer that at least a large majority of the Jews 
received baptism of him. But we are informed 
^hat Jesus baptized mol^e disciples than he. 
Neither of them baptized any but Jews. Now 
if John baptized even a small majority. Christ 
must have re-baptized His disciples, to receive 
more than he. In the nineteenth chapter of 
Acts we see i)lainly that some of John's disci- 
ples were re-baptized. This theory explains the 
household baptisms, and why the apostles bap- 
t'zed only in the name of the Lord Jesus every 
time, as recorded in the New Testament. These 
persons were already believers in God, and their 
faith was only changed in renpeet to Ijic Lord 
Jesus — hence the different formula. The mst 
commission was to the lost sheep of the house 
oflsraeL These all having been baptized, or, 
at least, had the refusal of the Gospel before our 
Lord was resurrected, the general commission 
probably has reference alone to the Gentile, 
world. They knew neither the Father, the Son, 
nor the Holy Ghost, but when convinced, and 
brought over to the Christian faith, they should 
be baptized according to this general commis- 
sion, to signify their change to the new faith in 
the three names. If this is not a reasonable sup- 
position, why is every recorded case of ba|>tism 
in the name of Jesus onlv ? 



368 THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 

St. Paul substantially tells us that a child is 
holy if either pareut is a Christian. iSTow he ev- 
idently means no more than that the child is a 
member of the churcli by birth, and will i>e 
brought up in the faith of the Gospel, and no 
change will be necessary, and therefore no bap- 
tism should ever be administered. We are in- 
formed in liistory that some of the Christian 
Fathers were elected bishops before they ever 
receiyed water baptism. This seems to indicate 
that their parents knew they did not need this 
sacrament, any more than a child needed it who 
was born unto Gentile j^arents after their initia- 
tion into the Jewish church. By the time, how- 
ever, that these bisho]>s were old, the whole 
church had receded so much from primitive pu- 
rity and simplicity — and the^^ were all quite su- 
perstitious about water baptism — it is quite 
probable that there was much clamor on the 
subject, and the old bishops were forced to sub- 
mit to the ordinance. 

'No^Y some able divines contend that our water 
baptism is a continuation of the ordinance prac- 
ticed b3^ the Jews ; and perhaps after all the con- 
tinued clamor on the subject, the truth, if ever 
discovered, may eventually be traced from this 
source. The Jews seemed to understand that 
this rite wa&^ a sian of a change of faith, and did 



THE ECCENTRIC THINKER. 169 



not therefore hesitate to submit to John's bap- 
tism, when they believed his preaching. Why, 
then, should the child of a Christian be baptized 
at air? If the child be properly taught, he will 
believe in Christ froDi infancy, and of course no 
change of faith is necessary, and therefore no 
baptism. He is a member of the visible church 
by birth, as also, of civil government. The chjl- 
dren born unto a prosel^^te after his initiation 
into the Jewish church were not bai)tized, but 
the males were circumcised: therefore it seems 
probable that the children of Christians do not 
need baptism, but only regeneration. It cer- 
tainly cannot be proved from Scrii)ture tliat anv 
one born unto Christian parents, and brought up 
under their influence, ever received Avater bap- 
tism. Then since there are at least so many 
speculative' reasons favoringthis solution of the 
difficult problem, and not a single text of Scrip- 
ture opposing it — perhaps after all, the Christian 
world has improperly perpetuated this rite until 
it has become a kind of idol, like circumcision 
in the Jewish church. 

THE END. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 822 335 1 



